Teatarishidai Ni Hakusho
by TeresaShiho
Summary: This is a YYH crack fic me and my friend are writing together. What happens when the Spirit Detectives get two new female members, and Yukina is kidnapped? Read to find out!
1. Chapter 1

***BRITTANY'S POV***

"No way! Hiei would kick Kurama's ass!" My friend, Marise, said to me as we walked down the street.

"No way in hell! Kurama would just make Hiei loose his cool, then strike while he's becoming reckless due to anger." I countered.

"Hiei is better." she replied.

"Hiei is pretty cool, but Kurama is - HOLY CRAP!" I screamed as a car narrowly missed us. "Geez, where'd that guy get hi license?" I questioned, my heart beating rapidly. "God...."

"Well, I gotta go this way, so bye." Marise said as she turned to leave.

"Parting is such sweet sorrow...." I said, dramatically.

"What?"

"Haha, we're doing Romeo and Juliet in English." I said, laughing slightly.

"Haha, nice. See ya round." She said, waving.

"Hey, don't get hit by any cars or anything." I warned.

"Ha! As if! You're the one who has to be careful." She laughed.

"Whatever. Bye, Marise! See ya."

"Yeah, see you tomorrow."

~10 minutes later~

"Oh, wait. I need to give Marise back her movie. I totally forgot." I though as I jogged in the direction she went. "Hm? What's going on? There's a crowd." I murmured, pushing past people. Then I saw something from the corner of my eye. Black spikes...... red hair? Odd.....

I was now at the front of the crowd. I looked down and froze. Everything stopped. "Marise..... damn it.... DAMMIT MARISE! I SAID DON'T GET HIT BY A CAR!!!" I yelled at the body laid on the ground in front of me. "I'm gonna kill you if you die on me!"

I looked up at the crowd that was just staring. "You freaking morons! Call 911 already!" I shouted. A bunch of people rushed to comply. "You!" I said, pointing an accusing finger at the driver. "Get your ass back in the car, and step on the gas so I can go kick her ass for dying on me!"

"Uhm, I don't think that would be wise."

"Stupid girl...."

My eyes went wide at the voices. I turned around, and looked at the driver again. "Hurry! Do it! Before I go entirely insane! Well, it's either that, or people with perfect cosplay are concerned-"

"I'm not concerned, stupid girl! And 'cosplay'?"

"It's a popular pastime among otakus around the world which is-" 'Kurama' started.

"-about my life!" I finished after being interrupted by 'Hiei' and not letting 'Kurama' finish.

"I told you, I couldn't care less!" 'Hiei' shouted at me.

"Okay, Anime North was a week ago, you freaks! And in TORONTO, not WHITBY!" I began to rant at 'Hiei'. "Now go away!" I turned on the driver. "And YOU! Ass in the car NOW!"

But before anything could happen 'Kurama' picked me up and began to carry me away. "You're dangerous to be left alone..." he said calmly.

"Put me down! Ahhhhh! Help! I'm being kidnapped by hot..... er.... never mind! I'm being kidnapped! HELP!" I screamed, while kicking my legs. I looked over and saw 'Hiei' pick up Marise's body with a grunt. "Dammit! Out-of-grave robbing! Let Marise and me go!"

"I'm afraid we can't do that." 'Kurama said. I looked behind him and my eyes went wide.

"Botan? Yusuke? Kuwabaka?" I said, shocked. "Yeah.... I'm crazy.....I've freaking SNAPPED!" Everyone looked at me and might as well have done a facepalm. And I continued to scream. "SEE MARISE?! YOU MADE ME CRAZY! ARGGGGGGGGG!"

"Can we just shut her up?!" 'Hiei' said, glaring at me.

"NO!" I yelled. "Suffer kidnapping PUNISHMENT! And OUT-OF-GRAVE ROBBING!" I took a huge intake of breath and: "_Oh my word, this tune is annoying! Yes, my God, its really annoying! I can't get this song out of my he-eeead! Oh, my God, its really annoying! I've gotta go to work in the morning! Now I'll be humming this tune in my be-eeeed! OH!_"

~40 minutes later~

Hiei twitched.

"_Oh, my word this tune is annoyiiiiiiiiiiing!_"

"SHUT UP!" My captors screamed at me.

"No." I said flatly. "_Oh! Its a..... BADGER, BADGER, BADGER, BADGER, BADGER, BADGER, BADGER,_ _BADGER,_ _BADGER, BADGER, BADGER, BADGER, MUSHROOM! MUSHROOM! ITS A...... OH!"_

~30 minutes later~

"_Oh! SNAAAAAKE! SNAAAAAKE! IT'S A SNAKE! Oh, it's a snake.... it's a badger, badger, badger, badger, badger, badger, badger, badger, badger, badger, badger, badger, MUSHROOM! MUSHRO-_"

"SHUT THE HELL UP!" 'Hiei' yelled, twitching and almost dropping Marise. "IF YOU DON'T I SWEAR-"

"You'll what, kill me? You wouldn't do that. After all, you went through the trouble of finding me right? And if you wanted me dead, you would have let the car kill me, correct?" I stated totally calm.

"Tch!" was 'Hiei's reply.

"So I AM right." I said with a smirk playing on my lips. "If that's the case, then: _This is the song that never ends! It just goes on and on, my friends! Some people started singing it, not knowing what it does! And they'll continue singing it forever just because; this is the song that never ends......_"

~50 minutes later~

"_This is.... the song..... that.... never..... endzzzzzz....._" I breathed softly on 'Kurama's shoulder, taking the deep breaths of the truly sleeping.

"FINALLY!" 'Yusuke' shouted. Three pairs of hands flew to his mouth, along with a katana at his throat.

"Mmm....." I moaned in my sleep.

"Ha! That was a close on, eh Urameshi!" 'Kuwabara' said loudly, waking me up.

"Nya..... My head hurts..... What was I doing?" I said sleepily. "Oh, I remember! _It just goes on and on, my friends!_"

"UGH......!" They all moaned. 'Hiei' looked ready to utterly destroy 'Kuwabara'. Not to mention, ME.

~10 minutes later~

"OH, MY EFFING GOD!" I shouted. "The insane asylum looks just like Koenma's place from YuYu Hakusho!"

"Wow, you're right!" I hear from behind me. At that moment I bring my feet up and hit 'Kurama' in the face, then I run over and glomp Marise, who was standing behind me.

"Marise! You're alive! When did that happen?!"

"Umm, I think about halfway through 'the song that never ends' but it's kinda hard to tell...." she replied.

"Well, what do we do now? We've been captured by YuYu Hakusho COSPLAYERS!" I asked.

"Actually, Botan explained everything to me and.....well...."

~Give 15 minutes for explanation~

"So that is actually Kurama and Hiei?" Marise nodded. "I personally think you hit your head too hard..... BUT, I'm still in heaven!" I hugged Hiei tightly, and he went to draw his katana.

"Get....OFF!" He said angrily. I had obviously not made a good first impression.

"You're not ALLOWED to kill me, remember? Sparkey-chan." He glared worse than I had ever seen before, and waited, almost trembling, for me to let go.

I finally let go, and walked up to Kurama. "Scar Hiei for life: Check." I looked up at Kurama. "Hmm.... So what do we call you? Shuichi? Minamino? Youko? Fox? Or just Kurama?"

"Uh..... Kurama will do." he said smiling.

"I told you Kurama's cuter!" I yelled over at Marise while I latched on to Kurama.

"You don't seriously want to have this argument here, after we pretty much just met them?" Marise said, giving me a look.

"Of course I do! Oh, and by the way, Kurama would kick Hiei's ASS in a fight!" The YuYu gang did an anime sweatdrop, except for Hiei, who glared curiously.

"Clearly you didn't watch the series close enough." Marise said back to me. "Hiei would his speed to get the upper hand, then strike! If worse came to worse, he would use the Dragon of the Darkness Flame!"

"Nuh-uh! Kurama would just outsmart Hiei!" I argued back.

"Maybe for a short while, but not enough to win the fight."

"Hell yeah! All Kurama has to do is light Sparkey-chan's short fuse, and wait for him to get reckless so he'd fall into a trap!"

"He might get hurt, but he wouldn't loose!"

"If he gets hurt, Kurama just has to summon one of those carnivorous plants! Dark Tournament proves that it would work."

"Umm, guys... I mean, girls...." Yusuke said, interrupting us. "Couldn't Hiei just transform and kick Kurama's ass that way?"

"Oh, so you want to see the atrocity known as green Hiei?" Marise and me said in unison. Everyone shuddered.

"Never mind...." Yusuke retreated.

"At least Hiei's still cuter." Marise said.

"You act like you pretty much worship me...." Hiei said.

"Yeah.... well.... I kinda do..." Marise said a little nervously.

"No, Kurama looks cute in EVERY one of his forms." I said. "As for Hiei..... Sure he's cute NOW, but......"

Suddenly Kurama picked me up again. Not that I was complaining this time. "We'd better go...." He said.

"Yeah, or certain cute demon may get a little too worked up...." Marise said while she looked at Hiei with an admiring smile.


	2. Chapter 2

***MARISE'S POV***

"Well, this is going to be interesting...." Koenma sighed as we walked into his office. Clearly he had heard our previous conversations. "Anyway, now that we finally have some new additions to the team, we should train them before sending them out into battle."

"Wait..... YOU'RE suggesting that we train them?" Yusuke said questioningly and with utter disbelief.

"Yeah...." I said. "Usually you'd just throw us into a mission as see what happens while the guys insist we train, and you ignore them!"

"OMG! That is so true!" Brittany exclaimed, glomping me.

"What.... well..... Who cares?! Just go! Genkai's waiting for you!" he screamed as he shooed us out.

~FF to Genkai's temple.~

"Its like I said, even as Youko, Kurama has no way of defeating the Dragon of the Darkness Flame! Its the DARKNESS FLAME! It can incinerate ANYTHING including fire-proof man-eating plants!" I explained for the gazillionth time. Why couldn't she get it?

"NOOOOOOOOO! Kurama would out-smart Hiei! He just would!" Brittany yelled.

"How long have they been going at it this time?" Yusuke whispered to the others.

"Who care?! I just want them to shut up!" Hiei yelled making sure to send us deadly glares. If looks could kill..... well.... Hiei wouldn't need the Dragon of the Darkness Flame.

"I admit, it is becoming tiresome." Kurama said in such a tone that no one could take offense. Typical.

"I think you guys just can't handle the facts!" Kuwabara said with unnecessary confidence.

"What do you mean, fool?" Hiei said with every intention of being offensive. Heh heh. This is so awesome!

"I mean, shrimpy, if you think about it who would actually win? I mean, Hiei is no doubt strong, but Kurama's cleverness would surely give him the upper hand." Kuwabara said, attempting to sound intelligent.

"You know you're right..." Yusuke said. "Maybe it would end in a tie." The two nit-wits nodded together.

"You two really ARE morons!" Hiei stated with the usual annoyance. "We all know that I could defeat Kurama in a fight any day!"

"Hiei...." Kurama said in a tone that implied he didn't want this conversation to continue.

"Let me tell you one thing, shorty, it wouldn't be easy." Yusuke said with a smirk.

"Um.... guys?" I said. "How long are we gonna walk up these stairs? I don't remember them being this long in the anime..."

"Yeah..." Brittany said with a sense of enlightment. "And why are we not tired yet?!"

"Well, to answer your quest-" Kurama started, but was interrupted by a scream from Brittany:

"YAAAAAAAAY! I GET AN EXPLAINATION FROM KURAMA!" Everyone sweatdropped.....

"Um.... as I was saying.... I don't recall the anime ever showing the full length of these stairs. And as to your stamina, when Marise died her spiritual energy was strengthened beyond that of a 'normal' human. As for you Brittany, perhaps it is from being around people such as ourselves that has strengthened you, but I'm not entirely sure."

"Oh, ok. Thanx!" Brittany said, glomping Kurama, who looked like he was in a lot of pain.....

"Hn! If you had watched the anime, you would have already known what Kurama just explained!" Hiei yelled at us.

"I already knew. Brittany was the one who asked the question." I said with confidence.

"Che! Whatever. At least SHE'S still a fool." he said turning to Brittany.

"Hey!" Brittany yelled with a displeased look. But before she could get him back, I said:

"Look! We're finally here!" I pointed at the large shrine gates now right in front of us. We opened the doors and went inside. We walked up to the front door and let ourselves in, but something seemed off to me. I was about to say something when Kuwabara spoke.

"Guys, I've got a bad feeling....." The idiot moaned.

"Yes," Kurama said. "Usually by now we would have been greeted by Genkai or Yukina, but I don't even sense any traces of life. Hiei?" Kurama turned to the short demon that now had his Jagan opened.

"In here..." Hiei said, leading us a few rooms over. There we found a letter that read:

Good day, Spirit Detectives.

We have captured the old bat

and the little girl. If you ever

want to see them again you

must overcome every challenge

we present to you. First, you

must meet us in the deepest

part of the forest and await

our instructions.

Good Luck, SUCKERS XD

Everyone sweatdropped...... I couldn't believe they ended it in such a lame way. And this plot line is so cliché! What the hell?!

"Yukina's been kidnapped...." Hiei muttered to himself in the corner.


	3. Chapter 3

***BRITTANY'S POV***

Hiei was still moping as we left the temple. "You know, Marise, something like this could happen to our family and friends as well, if there's actually somebody smart enough to look into our names and history and such, right?" I said, suddenly concerned about my idiotic, oblivious, younger, twin sisters. Everybody went silent and stared at me with odd faces, except Marise, "What?" I asked, curious about their facial expressions.

"You actually said... something smart." Yusuke said. I glared at him.

"Are **you **doubting my intelligence, Detective?" I questioned, still glaring.

"Actually, she's pretty smart. She gets really good grades too, in the 80's. She could probably get a lot higher too, if she wasn't so lazy with her work." Marise defended.

"You say that like it's hard to believe..." I muttered.

"Uhm..." they sweat dropped at me.

"Whatever, but like I was saying; We should both start to use an alias, that way we don't have to worry about somebody tracking our families. Also, if the Detective messes up my name one more time with that Japanese accent of his, he will wind up in a tree. Hanging by his underwear."

"Uh..." Everybody sweat dropped at me again.

"But you do have a good point." Kurama said, probably trying to remember how many times his mother has been used against him.

"Well, back home, I have a few friends who nicknamed me 'Yuki', and I use Faiyuki for my name on almost everything that I can, instead of my real name. So I guess I'll be Aiyoku, Faiyuki. But just call me 'Fai' or 'Yuki' for short. What about you Marise?" I asked, trying to think of one. 'Knowing Marise, it'll be 'I don't care' or 'it doesn't matter' but it has to be something she'll get used to fast... Marise, pronounced Mo-Reece, short for that is Moe... Mo-mo!' i thought, "How about Mo-mo, short for something we can find later." I said grinning, Marise just shrugged at me. "Mo-mo-chan!"

"Hey! I'm older than you!" she complained.

"Fine! Mo-mo-senpai!"

"Eah! Mo-mo-saaaaan!" Kuwabara tested the name, "Yeah! It's perfect!"

"Fai-san, or Yuki-san, Fai-san..." Yusuke tried to deside, "Yea, Fai-san!"

"Ah! Fai-fai and Mo-mo! So cuuuuute!" Botan squealed, I jumped into the air and landed on Kurama. Marise jumped too, slightly.

"You need to stop appearing out of nowhere." i complained, climbing off Kurama.

"So-rry!" she said, "So why are we here, in the middle of nowhere?" Botan questioned, obviously she planned to find us in the Dojo-temple-place, not wandering about around it. I handed her the letter, which I had slipped into my back pocket.

"There seems to be only one problem with the letter," I said, more to myself than anybody else, "they don't tell us where to- AHHH!" I screamed as I fell into a hole that was well hidden and had automatic trap doors. The doors above me closed, but not after I saw one more person fall in and I heard the others yelling. I landed on my ankle sideways, and I hissed slightly. But sound was overpowered from the 'THUD THUD' of my, and whoever else was with me, bodies hitting the ground.

"Where are we?" I heard Kurama's inquisitive voice ask.

"Kurama? Why are you here? I really doubt you fell too." I asked.

"I came after you." he said, sitting up. It was so dark I could only tell from what I could hear.

"Seriously?" I asked, hearing a slight echo.

"Yes." he said, I heard him move, probably checking himself for injury.

"Wow... I'm beyond flattered, you have no idea..." I said, feeling my face heat up, "But that was stupid, and reckless. This is obviously a trap." I pointed out.

"I know, and isn't that all the more reason to come after you? You have no training, after all." My face burned from both embarrassment, he was right about being next to defenseless against a well trained foe, and from a blush because of his concern.

"I guess..." I muttered, 'I am very well aware of the fact that, like me, this boy can probably come up with an answer for every argument I make. And this also doesn't really seem to be the proper case for arguing.' I thought. 'and thank God for the dark, if he saw my blush, I don't know what I'd do.' I stood up. Well, I tried. I wound up back on the ground, one hand on my ankle, one on my head.

"B- Aiyoku-san! Are you alright?" I was pleased that he remembered not to use my name, but both my head and ankle was killing me.

'Not that I'll tell him.'

"I'm fine. Just a head ache and blood rush." I said, 'I think that will satisfy him for now.'

"Walk over to me." Kurama said, sounding worried.

'I guess not.'

And there was that stupid blush again.

I stood up slowly this time, being careful of both my head ache and my ankle. I carefully walked in the direction that his voice was coming from. I could tell I was close because I could hear his breathing practically in front of me.

And I fell again.

"Ouch..." I hissed, holding my ankle with both hands, trying to stop the pain that pulsed through the annoying limb.

"It's more than just a head ache." Kurama said from under me.

'**Wait**... _Under_ me?!'

I scrambled to get off, but just wound up falling again.

'Stupid ankle...'

Kurama picked me up, for the not-even-God-knows-how-many-ith time today. And put me down in a corner. I could feel metal bars behind me.

'So we're in a cell.'

Suddenly light came from the other side of the bars, and I could tell the cell was probably only 5 footish by 8 footish. I also noticed our new 'neighbors' who fell from the open door in the other cell.

Hiei and Mari -err- Mo-mo


	4. Chapter 4

***MARISE'S POV***

"Oh, SHIT!" I said a little to loudly as I fell with a THUD! What the hell happened anyway? First we were walking, then Yuki and Kurama fell through a hole, then suddenly I'm falling too!

"I guess this means we can assume we came to the right place." I said to myself. Then I heard something move beside me. I looked over and finally noticed that Hiei was right beside me!

"Hiei..." I said. "Guess you fell in the same place as me...."

"Well, yeah...." he replied. "I mean, its not like I was chasing after you or anything....." He said a little nervously.

"Whatever." I said as we both stood up. Though we quickly noticed that we had fallen into a cell.... and a very small one.

"Mo-mo!" I heard a voice scream from my right.

"Brit- I mean, Yuki! And Kurama....!" I said. There were also in a cell identical to ours. "I'm glad you two are alright!"

"Our feelings exactly." Kurama said.

"Has either of you seen Yusuke or Kuwabara?" I asked.

"Stupid! They're on the other side of us!" Hiei said rudely. And surely enough, there they were.

"Ok, I'm sorry! You don't have to make such a big out of it! I was just a little distracted." I said back to him.

"Hmph! If you can't stay focused during a mission, you'll be useless. I knew we should have left you and your friend behind." Hiei scoffed at me and Yuki.

"Excuse me?!" I screamed. Some rude comment I could take, but that was outright offensive.

"Hiei, you shouldn't talk that way." Kurama said. "After all, if you can't learn to get along with our new teammates, YOU shouldn't have come." Hiei flinched at that remark. Good thing Kurama can be trusted to keep the peace, especially when it comes to Hiei.

"Hey, guys, I hate to piss on your party, but do you have any clue where we are? I mean, last I checked, Grandma didn't have a jail under her forest." Yusuke said, while Kuwabara sat there looking around, probably trying to sense something unusual.

"Yeah, didn't those holes seem to appear out of nowhere? They couldn't have been there before." Yuki said to Kurama more than anyone else.

"Yes, I noticed that too." Kurama replied to Yuki. "It seems that someone was able to create the holes while we were walking. And from a distance, too. Otherwise any one of us could have sensed their presence. And to answer Yusuke's question, I don't believe this place we're in is under Genkai's forest."

"I don't get it....." Yusuke said in confusion.

"You see the holes were actually portals that transport anyone who falls in them to the place the creator wishes them to go to. In our case, right here."

"That makes sense." I said.

"Yeah." Brittany agreed.

"Guys! This is really weird! Usually I can sense stuff, but here I can only feel Yusuke's energy!" Kuwabara wined.

"It's these bars. They're made of a substance that prevents the captured from sensing anything on the other side. We also can't use any spirit energy while enclosed." Hiei explained, which probably meant that he can't use his Jagan eye.

"So what do we do now?" I asked.

No one responded. We were completely helpless.

"Who wants to sing a song?" Brittany said with way too much cheer.

"NO!" Everyone including myself shouted at her.

Suddenly we heard a loud surround-sound voice: "Welcome, Spirit Detectives. Although it'd be customary to introduce myself to you, for plot line's sake I won't!" We all sweatdropped. Its not as though we won't find out eventually. And was that comment supposed to irritate us? Cause it failed.

"Just a friendly reminder: we still have Genkai and Yukina in our custody, so it would be wise for you to do whatever we say." We all tensed.

"What is your reason for doing this?!" Kurama asked.

"Knowing you, you'll find out eventually..." The loud voice said. "But first I think I'll toy with you a bit."

"What do you mean?!" Yusuke screamed.

"From this point on, your cells will shrink. As you've noticed, they can't be opened using keys. Your spiritual energy has been sealed off, so there's no forcing your way out. However, the cells will open on one condition: you must kiss the person you are locked up with."

There was a loud eruption of WHATs as soon as we realized that the voice was serious.

"NO WAY!" Yusuke screamed. "Hell could freeze over a million times and it would NEVER HAPPEN!"

"THAT'S RIGHT!" Kuwabara yelled in agreement. At that moment, the cells began to shrink. "Ahhhhhhh! But we still gotta find a way out! What are we gonna doooooo!" He screamed in panic.

"This is ridiculous!" Hiei said. "What the hell kind of test is this, anyway?!"

"Don't YOU start complaining, Hiei!" Yusuke yelled at his friend. "At least your partner is of the OPPOSITE SEX!"

"I am NOT going to kiss a human girl I just met!" Hiei screamed, giving me a harsh glare. Typical. He knows just how to spoil the fun. I never imagined things would come down to this. Wait, did I ever imagine it at all.......?

"Hiei, we're losing precious time!" Kurama said from beside us. "We have to do as we're told. Think about what could happen to Yukina if we disobey!"

I could feel Hiei tense up at that remark, as the cells had shrunk to the point that our bodies were forcibly against each other.

"W-wait!" Brittany said nervously. "So, you're actually going to kiss me?"

"Under the circumstances, yes."

With that I could see Brittany flush red, and for once she was rendered speechless. Kurama reached forward, put one hand on her cheek and leaned in. As their lips met smoothly, Brittany froze. Her eyes were wide with shock, as the one person she admired since I introduced her to the series was now sharing an intimate experience with her.

As soon as their lips parted, the front of the cell opened and they both walked out. Brittany's knees buckled and she fell. Kurama helped her up and said something, but I wasn't listening. I had to find a way to get Hiei to kiss me, or we could both die. Not that I would complain about being that close with Hiei, but I wanted to live long enough to enjoy it.....

"Hiei, you have to kiss me now! See, it's not a joke or anything. The cell will open, so just do it."

He continued to hesitate. "Look.... I just...." His face started to get a little pink, and I could have sworn he was shaking, but then again, I probably was too.

"Oh, god...." I said as I grabbed Hiei's white scarf and pulled him into a kiss. I had to bend down a little, as I was taller than him, but that didn't matter. At first he was tense from the surprise of it, but he relaxed a little once we got into it. That made me more comfortable, and I let go of my grip on his scarf and slowly moved my hand down his chest...

"HELLOOOOOO!" We both jumped at the sound of Brittany's loud voice, and Hiei's hand accidentally landed on my breast when he went to push me away. We both let out an embarrassed yelp and ran out of the cell with our faces completely red.

"Sure took you guys long enough!" Brittany said to us sarcastically.

"Yes, perhaps someone was really enjoying it....." Kurama said, looking down at Hiei who was ready to tear him and Brittany apart.

"Same to you...." Brittany said nudging me.

"J-just shut up!" Me and Hiei said in unison. We looked at each other, then quickly looked away with our faces now burning.

"S-so, where are the fools?" Hiei said, trying to change the subject.

"Well, you see.... they're having a hard time coming to an agreement...." Kurama said with a sweatdrop hanging from his head. I looked over at the two boys, who were in deep argument.

"GET AWAY FROM ME, YOU FREAK!" Yusuke shouted.

"In case you haven't noticed, Urameshi, I can't! And besides, we have to! It's for the sake of my love!" Kuwabara seemed to sing that last part, more than speak it....

"Who cares?!" I refuse to kiss, or BE kissed by a GUY!"

"Dammit, Urameshi! You'll be the end of me and, more importantly, my love! DON'T WORRY YUKINA, I'LL SAVE YOU!" And with that, Kuwabara forced his face into Yusuke's and, sure enough, it was a kiss. Yusuke flailed his arms and legs in an attempt to get his big, ugly friend off him, but to no avail. As soon as the cell opened, they both ran out coughing and spitting.

"That's it. YOU'RE DEAD!" Yusuke screamed as he lunged at Kuwabara. The two then engaged in an intense fist fight, though it just looked like two idiots trying to beat each other up. None of us wanted to get involved in this, (and besides, we were still getting over the permanent scarring that resulted from watching this) so we left them alone.

Quite a while later, they ran out of energy and just stopped.

"Well, now that you two are finally done, lets move on." Kurama said, walking down the only hallway that led out of the room. We all followed.


	5. Chapter 5

***BRITTANY'S POV***

I refused to let Kurama carry me, dispite my horrible limp and the extreme pain in my worthless excuse of an ancle. My face was still heated, and I kept going over the kiss in my head

'God, how embarrassing,' I thought, 'Kurama probably thinks I'm immature or stupid or something now. God, I hate my luck. My fist kiss and it was against my will. And what Kurama said... _'Under the circumstances, yes.'_ God! That was so harsh! I wanted to cry... This will be so awkward later.' I flinched as I stepped on my ankle weird.

"Ouch..." I hissed under my breath.

"Aiyo-"

"No, Kurama, you aren't carrying me." I heard footsteps come up behind me and I did a cross between a side-step, and hopping on one foot. Yusuke was beside me, motioning as if he was picking something up, right where I was a moment ago. He looked over at me and frowned. I frowned back, and added a glare as interest.

"No, Detective. I am not going to be carried." I growled. My mood was worse that the way Hiei usually was, but right now he was kinda spacey. Yusuke distracted me enough to allow somebody else to pick me up. I glared at the short yokai who just defied physics by picking up somebody who's 5'9. "Put me down, Hiei." I growled. He actually did, but right into Kurama's arms. I huffed in annoyance.

"Tch, you're worthless injured, onna." Hiei said.

"At least I didn't lose my first kiss to somebody almost half my height, Sparkey-**chan**." He glared, and then smirked.

"No, you lost yours to a kitsune, **Baka-onna**."

"You lost yours to a ningen you just met!"

"You lost yours to a yokai you just met!"

"Shut up!" Yusuke interrupted. Hiei and I blinked at him, then frowned.

"Better than losing it to a hideous/baka ningenof the same gender." We both stated in union, me mentioning his appearance, Hiei, his intelligence. We were both calm again, but Yusuke looked like he was going to puke, remembering his 'Little piece 'o' Kuwa'. And Kuwabara began to rant about how he isn't an idiot and how he's a gentleman, and how he is beautiful, not ugly.

"Shut up!" Hiei and I demanded in union. We glared at each other."Baka ningen/yokai..." we muttered.

"Well, that was odd and extremely out of character." Marise stated. I was going to counter but stayed quiet so I wouldn't wind up in sync with Hiei again. He appeared to have the same idea. After a few minutes I remembered something I wanted to ask earlier.

"Yusuke, Kuwa? Why'd you guys kiss?" I asked.

"What?" Yusuke asked, confused.

"Yea! She has a good point!" Marise grinned at the two confused boys.

"I understand what you're saying..." Kurama said, catching on.

"Tch." Hiei smirked, also knowing.

"What!? If we didn't, we'd be crushed!" Kuwabara shouted.

"Not necessarily." I said, then I looked up at Kurama. 'It's his job to explain things to the idiots.'

"What Aiyoku-san means, is, we were all out of the cells before you two kissed," Kurama said.

"Yea, we could have blasted you out, from the outside." I finished. Both boys broke down in tears. Marise laughed, Hiei's smirk deepened and he snickered at the idiots, I giggled slightly, and Kurama chuckled.

"You guys are pure evil!" The boys wailed.

"I love you too!" I said, grinning. "Hey, Kurama, stop here for a sec." He looked at me curiously, "Put me down, I need to see something." Surprisingly, he actually complied. I limped over to the wall and felt around for something.  
Click. 'Found it.'

"Ohhh! You found it! Good onna!" that annoying, deep voice said over the speakers. "How'd you know?"

"Know what?" Yusuke asked, even Kurama and Hiei seemed lost.

"I dropped this." I said, holding up a shiny silver coin, "soon after we started moving. I figured, if this guy can put holes in the time space continuum, why not be able to bend it too? We've actually walked past the coin a few times. Then it was just a matter of finding the hidden switch, and for that, I just used instinct."

"What!? We've been going in circles!?" Yusuke shouted. He was ignored.

"Hey, mister. Can I have a mini prize for figuring out your trick?" I asked. He laughed at me, and I frowned.

"What do you want, little onna?" He asked.

"I want to hear Yukina-san."

"Oh?" he asked, err, sounded.

"We don't even know if they're alive, Hiei is worthless down here. I'd like to know if we are actually going to accomplish something, or if this is just free entertainment for you." He laughed at me again, and I glared at the wall, lacking a being to glare at.

"That sounds fair! Haha! Oi! My little snow-angel! You have a phone call!" The boys growled.

"H-hello?" Yukina stuttered, probably terrified.

"Yukina-san!" Kuwabara squeeled. 'No, this was to easy.' I thought, 'there's a twist.'

"Yukina-san," I said.

"H-hello? Who are you?"

"I'm a friend. I need you to answer something for me." I asked.

"O-okay." she stuttered. Faintly, probably unnoticed by the others, paper was shuffled.

"What is your twin brother's name?" I knew Hiei was glaring, that didn't matter.

"That's silly! You know that it's Hi-"

"One favor, please." I interupted, "The **real** Yukina-san, please?"

"W-what? I am Yukina!"

"Yukina-san... she doesn't know who her brother is, or if he's even alive. Now either give us Yukina-san, or stop wasting my time." a slight cocky smile played on my lips, I counted on this guy having information.

"Hahahahaha! This is one smart little pet you've caught, Yoko!" I growled, but my smile soon returned, but it seemed slightly, sadistic.

"I am no one's pet." My smile was there, but my voice and eyes were cold. I sat against the wall.  
'God, my ankle. It's killing me.'

"Will you give us the real Yukina-san? Or must we continue walking in circles?" I questioned.

"Actually, I think I shall let you continue now!" The voice was so cocky-sounding; I could practically hear the smirk.

"Ah!" The wall I was leaning against disappeared, and I fell backwards into another hole, with a yelp of surprise. I managed to flip around and land on my feet. Unfortunately.

I screamed out in pain as my ankle took on my full body weight, plus the force of the absolutely _wonderful_ thing we call gravity.

"Yuki!" Marise shouted, worried.

"Fai-san!" Yusuke voiced. I stumbled to my feet and over to a wall, leaning to support myself. I pushed away the worried people plus the one yokai plus the one half yokai. Marise sighed and pulled my arm over her shoulders, allowing me to use her as support. Everything was quiet. After about ten minutes we ran into a bright light that caused us all to flinch away after being in the dark so long. After we could see we noticed we were in a large, arena-like room, with a tall, bulky man with straggly hair and a messy beard on a stage, wearing a grey robe-cape-thing. I noticed his eyes become extremely happy when Hiei walked forward to fight him. I pushed away from Marise.

"No, Hiei, he's mine."

"Don't be stu-" Hiei started.

"He _wants _to fight you, look at his eyes. And that means one of several things. One: He's a Pedophile and he wants to do more than fight you. Two: He is suicidal. Three: He honestly believes he can beat you in a fight. Or four, and my personal favorite and what I believe are true: He is strong as the first opponent to step foot on that stage." From the corner of my eye, I saw the man's expression change to a glare at me. I smirked. 'God, I'm smirking a lot lately. Hiei must be rubbing off on me.'

I limped up to the stage and gracelessly pulled myself up, being careful not to touch the stage with my injured leg,  
yet.

He glared and went to take a step forward. I put my injured leg down, and he fell over, screaming and holding his ankle.

"Bingo." I said, grinning immaturely.


	6. Chapter 6

***MARISE'S POV***

Us six teammates waited as our opponent struggled to stand up. When he was on his feet again, he looked at Yuki and said:

"You're pretty smart, little girl."

"So this guy gets the powers of the people who step onto the stage? But then how are we gonna fight him?!" Kuwabara screamed.

"We'll have to figure that out later...." Kurama said. "Right now, we have a bigger problem. Look at the stage."

We all did as instructed. There seemed to be something surrounding the stage....

"A shield...." Hiei said. "Which will ensure that nothing gets in or out."

"Oh, no! That means Fai-san's trapped in there with that guy!" Yusuke screamed.

"Don't worry guys," Yuki said. "I may not have training, but I'll try and hold this guy off...."

"You realize you're going to get yourself killed." Hiei said smugly.

"You fools! Don't you see what's going on?" Our, or rather, Yuki's opponent said loudly. "I'm glad this helpless girl came up first. You see, now I'm going to slowly kill her and put her through the worst pain she's ever felt! Then once I let the shield down, you'll all charge at me out of rage and THAT is when I'll defeat you!"

"Hey, uh, you do realize that now that we know your plan, we won't fall for it?" I asked. Man, these dumb villains were annoying enough on television, but in real life they're outright intolerable!

"..........."

Yusuke and Kuwabara burst out in laughter. "Ah ha ha! You're such a moron! I can't believe you just revealed your entire plot!" Yusuke started.

"Yusuke...." Kurama started.

"Yeah! Now we're gonna beat you so bad, not even kittens will look at you!" Kuwabara continued.

"Kuwabara....." Kurama tried again, but to no avail.

"So get ready, cause here we come!" The two boys yelled in unison.

"Stop, you FOOLS!" Hiei yelled angrily.

"What's up, Hiei?" Yusuke asked, now that his and Kuwabara's attention had been gained.

"Well, for starters, you can't attack from here because of the SHIELD!" Their short friend yelled at them with intense frustration.

"Also," Kurama said. "You shouldn't talk that way to our opponent, or else Aiyoku-san will be the one to suffer."

"Oh.... crap!" Yusuke said out loud.

We all looked back at the stage where Yuki stood, trapped.

"How about we find out who's really the moron here?" The cloaked man said with a smile.

Then he charged at Yuki, who stood there unsure of what to do considering his speed was so much greater than hers, even with a broken ankle. He punched her hard, sending her flying. Yuki landed on the stage with a hard THUD! We all cringed. What could we do? None of us could even get through the shield.

Yuki struggled to get up, between her broken ankle and now swollen cheek which looked like it hurt. But before she could completely gain her balance, her opponent grabbed her by the neck and lifted her off the ground. We could hear Yuki struggle to breath as the cloaked man purposely tightened his grip.

"Hmph! Although I could easily choke you to death right now, that's no fun." The nameless bastard said with an evil grin. He then threw Yuki to the floor hard, and laughed as her frail body rolled around. This time, Yuki didn't try to get up. She lay there struggling to regain her breath, as her opponent slowly approached her. When he got to Yuki, he kicked her onto her back, lifted his foot and brought in down hard on Yuki's chest. We heard her scream out in pain, while we called her name. The cloaked man yet again lifted his foot and stomped on Yuki's chest. He did it over and over, and each time we heard Yuki Yuki let out a quick cry of pain.

"Dammit, we've gotta do something!" Yusuke screamed.

"Patience, we just need to think." Kurama said.

"There's no time to think!" Yusuke shouted as he held out his index finger. It began to glow brightly as it filled with Yusuke's spirit energy.

"Spirit Gun!" Yusuke screamed as a large blast shot from his finger. It collided with the shield and then disappeared. "It didn't work?!" The spirit detective exclaimed in shock.

"Of course not, you fool. If we could break through the barrier, they wouldn't have raised it in the first place." Hiei explained to his slow friend.

"Oh, no! Suddenly I'm having flashbacks to the territory issue we had while fighting Sensui!" Kuwabara screamed.

Then it hit me: "Wait, can't Kuwabara use the dimension sword to break through the shield?"

"Yes, I had already thought of that, but even if we could get in, we wouldn't be able to beat him because he would get all our powers." Kurama explained.

"Then I'll go! I may not be able to fight him, but I can at least get Yuki out!" I told them.

"Well....." They said, considering my offer.

"We have to let her do it. Look!" Yusuke screamed as he pointed to the stage. We looked, and saw that the cloaked man had drawn a sword and was getting ready to slay Yuki.

"Hurry, Kuwabara! Do it now!" I yelled at him.

"Alright!" Kuwabara said as he held out his hand and summoned the yellow-green sword that could slice through dimensions. He lifted it above his head and brought it down cutting a hole in the shield.

I ran in and headed towards Yuki, but I could see I wasn't going to make it. He had already begun to bring his sword down onto my friend.

"Yuki!" I screamed as I instinctively threw my hand out in front of me. I wished there was something I could do. Some way I could save my friend. But I had no special powers. There was nothing I could do.

Suddenly my body began to feel warm. As I looked at my hand, which was still out in front of me, I could have sworn it was glowing red. I heard a scream of pain from someone in front of me, but it wasn't Yuki's voice.... It was the cloaked man's! I looked up and saw that his right arm, which had been holding his sword, was gone. Then the rest of him fell to pieces in a bloody mess.

I had no idea what just happened, so I ran over to Yuki to make sure she was still alive. There were no sword wounds, so I could assume that meant the cloaked man's arm had been cut off before he could strike.

"She's unconscious...." Came the voice of Kurama from behind me. "That figures. Her opponent didn't show any mercy."

"Kurama, you've got some herbs or something to make her better, right?" Yusuke asked, concerned for Yuki.

"Yes." Kurama replied.

Kurama did his stuff, and gave Yuki some herbs that would quicken her healing. While he was doing that I asked:

"So, what exactly happened when that guy fell to pieces? I mean, I don't recall doing anything much...."

"That was your aura." Hiei said. Everyone, except for Kurama who was still healing Yuki, turned to face him. "As it was already explained, when you died your spirit energy increased greatly. As with the fool and Yusuke, each person manipulates their energy in a different way, depending on what suits them best. You can turn your aura into an actual physical force. With training, it could become a decent ability."

"Oh....Okay." I said. Yep, this was definitely an anime, complete with god-walker abilities.

"Well, I'm done. Let's go." Kurama said as he picked up Yuki, yet again, and we continued on.


	7. Chapter 7

***BRITTANY'S POV***

I'm not unconscious.... I thought. Just in pain, though these herbs were working pretty well. I was then lifted up, and I moaned in pain as my body screamed in protest against any movement.

"Sorry," I heard Kurama say.

"Fai-san!" Yusuke yelled.

"Yuki-san!" Kuwabara yelled in unison to Yusuke.

My hand twitched to my head as I became aware of another migraine. These were worse than usual.... Kurama picked me up again and I refused the urge to resist. I winced and closed my eyes tightly. The walls, ceiling, and floor began to shudder.

"Good job!" The voice said over the intercom thingy. "Now let's see if you can get to the next area before you're crushed!" He laughed and disconnected the link.

"That guy isn't good for headaches...." I muttered.

We ran, well, they ran and I was carried into a relatively small hallway. Suddenly, the light behind us was blocked out and I looked back and saw that a rock the size of the hallway coming behind us. With the order we were in, it was first Kuwabara, then Yusuke (who are the two most likely to trip or fall), then Hiei, Kurama and I, and Mo-mo. Not to mention there was no way to turn around or jump in a hallway this small. To my great surprise, it wasn't Yusuke or Kuwabara that fell, it was Mo-mo. I might have laughed at the clumsy role being played by her if she wasn't about to be, you know, crushed? There was no way she'd able to get up before she was crushed.

"No! Kurama! Put me down! Mo!" I shouted, ignoring the pain from my last fight that raced through my struggling form.

"The only thing that will accomplish is you being killed too!"

"So!?" I reached over Kurama's shoulder, as if I could grab Mo-mo and bring her to us. I reached as if I could stop the rock in its tracks.

'That's impossible though! I have no spiritual powers! And I haven't died, so I won't gain any like Mo-mo had.' I thought, mournfully.

"Useless!" I shouted out, struggling even more, "I'm so useless! Don't take her away from me!"

I closed my eyes shut tightly. I could feel a cold, numbing feeling go through my hands and everybody stopped, and looked back. I slowly opened my eyes and saw the rock, frozen solid, and Mo-mo, with a barrier if water covering her. I blinked, and pulled back one of my extended hands, the one that didn't feel so cold. Along with the movement of my hand, Mo-mo slid back, towards us. The colder hand was still extended, and I closed my eyes, picturing the rock shattering, and closed that hand swiftly. The rock shattered into a few thousand pieces. I refocused on my unconscious friend. Mo-mo was floating on a levitating bed of water right in front of me, and staying totally dry.

"Di-did I do that?" I questioned more myself than anybody else as I looked down at my hands.

But the boys were looking at something higher. No…. Not my chest, but my head. I winced as my head pulsed with pain from my headache. My hand flitted up to cradle my head, and I yelped slightly when I touched something unexpected…. Animal ears. And they twitched. My eyes widened slightly as I felt something swish against my legs; I looked down and saw a long feline tail that was the same color as my hair. My eyes widened even more, if that's possible. Then my head pulsed again with pain, and I fell forward. Kurama managed to catch me, but I whimpered slightly as a click, seemingly louder than before, was heard.

"Congratulations! It appears you've unlocked a few nice little fighters there!" the loud, extremely irritating voice said.

"Ow! Shut up! You're too loud! My head freakin' hurts!" I whined, "Ow… now I'm… tired." With that I fell off to the side, out of Kurama's arms. I hit the ground, and the floating bed of water that was holding Mo-mo up collapsed, and she landed on top of me. Both of us were out like lights. Kurama picked me up, and Hiei found a way to carry Mo-mo, then we continued forward into the now light tunnel.

I woke up before Mo-mo did.

"Ugh, my head hurts." I complained.

"Your head always- Yuki-san!" Kuwabara cheered.

"Ow, ow, ow, ow, ow! My head!" I whimpered.

"Nice to see you've rejoined the world of the conscious." Yusuke teased with a smirk.

"Wha-die-miss?" a sleepy Mo-mo muttered from beside me.

"Dunno, I just woke up too." I replied. We looked over at the boys.

"Uhm, three fights, but they weren't much. Except for Kuwabara, he needed to be saved." Yusuke answered. "I had to save him because Hiei and Kurama had their hands...Full. If you know what I mean." Yusuke grinned, with a weird look on his face, towards the yokai boys.

"Shut up detective." Hiei growled.

"Ha-ha! They wouldn't let you go!" Yusuke sneered.

We walked forward, well, the boys did. Mo-mo and I were still being carried. Not that we were complaining. We stepped into an empty room, and the door closed behind us tightly.

"Aiyoku-san." Kurama murmured, noticing the water that swirled protectively around my feet. Where it came from, I don't know. Yusuke tried to break down the door, but there was no point. The door wasn't going anywhere. My cat tail swished back and forth nervously. Suddenly a fog began to fill the room. Yusuke yawned and fell over, Kuwabara passed out and did a face plant into the floor. Mo-mo fell asleep and Hiei carefully placed her on the ground.

'Probably just for his own safety, I'd kill him if he hurt Mo-mo." I thought. A new fog began to enter the room and the yokai fell onto their knees.

"What?" Kurama muttered, before passing out.

Hiei fell forward as well, with a thump. I fell back too, and before I passed out I heard the door open.

**********

I was surprised when I woke up not chained or anything. Kurama, on the other hand, was a good 50 feet up…. Trapped in a cage.

"Aiyoku-san, are you okay?" He shouted down to me.

"I'm doing better than you." I replied up to him. I noticed I was standing in the middle of a large, round stage and there were three doors. One of them suddenly opened revealing my younger, twin sisters.

"Hey Britt!" They grinned.

"So I'm supposed to fight you?" I asked.

They shrugged. "If you're not afraid to."

I started laughing. "Finally! I can beat you brats without Mom interfering! I hope you don't run away this time!"

"What are you doing?!" Kurama yelled from above me, noticing my lazy stance. "You shouldn't underestimate any opponent, and besides that it's two-on-one!"

"That's déjà-vu." I said, ignoring the red-head. "Just like last time. Are you going to come at me? Or do I have to chase you again?"

The twins came at me, throwing punches and kicks, but I easily dodged every blow. I was used to fighting them - together or not. For a while this was all that went on. The identical brunettes continued to have trouble landing a hit. I ducked under a punch and one twin went flying off the stage. As soon as she left the proximity, she dissolved into nothing. I stepped back in shock. I was at the edge of the arena. The remaining twin charged, and I side stepped, leaving one leg out so she tripped and fell off the arena as well and dissolved. The door they had come from then disappeared.

The next door opened, and my next opponent walked out.

"Mo-mo!?" Kurama said out loud.

"Marise. She'll have no spiritual abilities. She's my friend from before, not a revived spirit tamer or whatever you call what she did. But this will be a hard fight emotionally, at least. Marise is the first friend I've had in about four years.... I don't want to hurt her...." I muttered. It's true; I didn't do very well in grade school.

"Hey, Britt. What's up?" Marise said with a smile on her face.

"You're not Marise." I said flatly.

"Physically, no. I'm more of a compilation of your memories of her, but I'm still the 'Marise' you love!" She smiled, and gave me a peace sign.

"Fun...." I said sarcastically.

This fight started similar to the last, but this time I was falling and missing and getting hit again and again. She tackled me, and I summer-saulted out of the way. She flew out of the arena.

"That wasn't fun at all...." I muttered, as I slowed my breath to normal. The door dissolved, and the next opened. Two figures walked out. Kurama gasped. It was Minamino Shuichi and Youko Kurama.

"Oh, just freaking great! I have to fight Youko?! Well, it was nice knowing you Kurama." I said, not so cheerfully. "But, if my theory is correct, then I have a chance."

If I'm right, then 'Shuichi' will be like he is in most fanfics; Polite, ruthless and curious. He'll probably watch Youko fight, and interfere if Youko loses. Youko, on the other hand, will toy me and try to drag out the fight. He'll be strong, possessive, and probably a perverted flirt. If my theory is right that is, and they're based off of what's used in most fanfics.

"If I'm right, Youko has to fight first. If I can beat the strong one, the weaker one will be easier to beat later." I said out loud. Though I knew that I had to knock out Shuichi before I beat Youko. The fight will make a good distraction.... And I was wondering if I could control the water in the body.... Well, at least it's a plan.

"So Youko, wanna play first?" I taunted.

The fox demon smirked, and stepped forward. He tossed a seed at me, but it missed all together. That surprised me. Almost as much as the vines that were now wrapping around my body, securing my body to a tree!

"Well this is an 'Oh, crap!' moment...." I said with a nervous grin as Youko suddenly appeared in front of me.

"You could say that." Youko said with a smirk in his usual deep voice that made fangirls faint.

I closed my eyes and tried to create the cold, numbing feeling I had when I first unleashed my powers. I felt my entire body go cold, but then Youko chuckled.

"Freezing the vines won't accomplish anything." He told me.

I changed my focus. The ice shattered and fell to the ground. I imagined it shoving Shuichi out of the ring, and when I opened my eyes, surely enough, the icy snow I had created was flying at the human, and hit him hard enough to send him off the edge. Like all before him, he dissolved. Youko simply smirked.

"I can't believe that actually worked!" I exclaimed loudly with a grin.

Youko laughed at my childish demeanor as he smirked. "That little trick won't work on me now." He stepped towards me, and I struggled against the vines holding me to the tree. "Oh, please. It's impossible for a child like you to escape my plants." He murmured as he pinned my shoulders against the tree. The vines over my torso loosened, and I suddenly became very afraid.

It was stupid of him to loosen my torso bindings, but what do I do now....? My thoughts were cut off by a gentle scratching between my cat ears. Unwillingly, a soft rumble came from my throat. Wait....Am I.... Purring....?!

"No! Bad! Bad bad bad! Fail! STOP!" I screamed at myself. The scratching shifted to right behind my ear. Then the purring came back, but louder. Dammit!

"Aiyoku-san! Focus!" The real Kurama yelled down at me.

"It's kinda hard...." I mumbled lazily. I could feel myself slowly falling asleep because of the soothing touch.

"You have to! I can't get out of here alone!" He begged.

"You'll figure something out...." I muttered quietly, though he probably heard me.

"You! Youko! Tell me where our friends are!" Kurama ordered.

This caused me to stiffen, even under the soothing scratching behind my ears. I shook my head, forcing his hand away, and gave myself a mental smack. How could I forget about Mo-mo and the others?!

"Where are my friends!" I yelled at the Youko standing in front of me.

"That depends...." Youko whispered to me. "I don't give secrets away for free, Neko." I hissed at him. Though I knew I should focus on finding a way out.

***FLASH BACK***

_"Hey, Tye!" A young, vibrant blond girl, around five, skipped up to a shorter boy with curly blond hair. His right arm and leg were in a brace. He smiled kindly to the girl._

_"Britt!" He said, happy to see his friend._

_"Hey Ty-ler." She said, leaning against the wall beside him._

_"Yes?" He asked, curious what his random, happy-go-lucky friend would come up with._

_"Let's say you're running away and a.... Forest! Yeah, a forest! A forest was chasing you! If you could pick, what element would you have?" She asked, giggling. _

_"Fire." He answered. "I'd burn down the whole thing." _

_"That's so boring!" The girl whined._

_"It's a sad day when a pyro tells you that...." Tyler responded with a sigh. _

_"I'm not pyro!" Britt objected. "I just like burning stuff and I space out when I watch fire...." _

_"And that's not py--" _

_"Shuuuush!" The girl whined. _

_"Fine. What about you?" The boy asked. Even for a girl so young, she was smart and usually came up with interesting answers._

_"Water. Then I'd use the water in the plants to turn them on their master, or if they had more control I'd just freeze or dissolve the water and kill the plants." She answered cheerfully. _

_"God, you over-think everything." Tyler told her._

_"I doooon't!" She whined, again._

***FLASH BACK END***

Who's over thinking things now? I thought to myself as I searched for the numbing feeling. I closed my eyes, created a diagram of my position in my mind, and imagined the water in the vines pulling back, letting me go. I worked, and I fell to the floor. I kept my eyes closed as I felt my form get picked up. I winced. I was still hurt from those last fights. I added the new positions into my mental diagram, and I imagined the water in the tree throwing it at us. Youko will jump to avoid, then the vines will ensnare him.... As planned, the water in the tree went at Youko, and he jumped. The vines then grabbed onto him, and he was thrown out of the ring with the tree. I opened my eyes and struggled to stand up, but I was too weak and fell to the ground on my back. Suddenly something, which felt like chains or some other form of binding, trapped me to the stage. Kurama's cage opened, and he landed gracefully near me.

"Are you okay?" He asked.

"Fine, besides being chained to the floor...." I said allowing sarcasm into my voice. The last of my doors disappeared, and three new ones replaced them.

"I assume these are my fights." Kurama said, without any trace of fear.

"Don't step on me...." I muttered before passing out from exhaustion.


	8. Chapter 8

***MARISE'S POV***

I woke up with a groan. The ground was hard and my head was spinning. I wished I wasn't so prone to headaches.... But enough of that! It was time to think. I got up onto my feet. The last thing I remember was a fog.... It must have out us to sleep. Typical. I looked around and saw that I was standing on a round stage. I assumed that meant I would be fighting again. Typical. AGAIN. I mean, would it kill these guys to be a little more original?! I looked around and saw three doors on the other side of the room. Three doors probably equal three opponents. Fun. If these guys are as good as the last ones we fought, then I'm screwed. I can't even control my power!

"Hey, girl!" Came a familiar voice from above.

"Hiei! You got caught?!" I said to the fire demon that was locked in a cage that was suspended high off the ground.

"O-of course not! They just got me after putting us all tp sleep!" He said, obviously frustrated.

But that is getting caught.... I thought to myself.

"So.... Um, do you think you can get down? I mean, I don't think I can fight three opponents...." I said.

"I already tried. It's no use." Hiei said regrettably. "Looks like you're on your own."

"Uh, okay...." I stuttered. There goes all my confidence.

I can't fight, and my power's too raw for me to know how to use it! Now I'll probably let the gang down, and on top of that I'll get killed AGAIN! Wait.... If I'm in an anime, won't I just pull some god-walker move and save the day? Hell, the bad guys will probably make it easy for me.... Aw, who am I kidding! This is hopeless....

Suddenly, the door on the left opened. Smoke emerged immediately, so it was difficult to see who - or what - was there.

"That must be your first challenger. Get ready." Hiei instructed.

"Okay..." I said as I tried to stay alert and focused.

The smoke finally cleared and a small figure stepped onto the stage. Hiei and I stared in shock at the person who was standing there. It was a little girl about five feet tall with long blond hair and blue eyes who wore casual human clothing.

"Timara....?!" I said loudly.

"You know this child?" Hiei asked.

"Yeah, she's my little sister!" I replied.

"Oh, so _this_ is how these fights will be...." Hiei said with little to no excitement.

"Oh...." I said realizing that 'this' meant that I was going to have to fight people I cared about. "But they're not real, right?"

"No...." Hiei said after letting his jagan have a peek. "They must be illusions created by someone powerful. Usually they'll only die if a specific condition laid out by their creator is met. Though, without knowing what that is, you'll be at a huge disadvantage."

"Great.... So now what do I do?" I asked, feeling incredibly insecure.

"This illusion of your sister doesn't seem too strong...." Hiei said. "So in this fight, try to harness your power in some way so that you'll be prepared for the next fight."

"Um, okay...."

Suddenly Timara charged at me. When she got close enough, she brought her right fist forward in a punch. Luckily her arms were short, so I was able to jump back and avoid it. I began moving away from her, but she followed, sending more kicks and punches in my direction. I knew I couldn't avoid her forever.... I had to find an opening. I waited for another strong punch, and when it came I stepped to the side, supported by my left foot, and kicked up with my right. The kick sent my sister flying, and she landed with a hard THUD!

"That's good! Now go attack her again!" Hiei screamed at me. I did as instructed, and ran over to Timara, ready to attack. But before I could do anything, my little sister thrusted forward and punched me just below my ribs. This time I was the one who was sent flying. I hit the stage hard and rolled for a while. I could feel that I had stopped just on the edge of the stage.

"Move, dammit!" I heard Hiei yell. I looked up to see Timara about to kick me, and I scrambled to my feet and moved just in time. I ran in a circular movement and got behind her while she was off-balance from the kick.

Man, I can't go on this way.... I thought to myself. I need to use my power now, but how?! Lets think, what did I do last time.... Last time I focused on a way to defeat that guy, and it happened. So it's about willpower. I can change the form of my aura according to my will! Alright, so now I want.... a blast of energy from my right hand.... I held out my right hand in Timara's direction, and focused. Sure enough, my hand got warm and I could see lots of red energy building up there. I willed it and the energy fired at my sister. It caught her off-guard and sent her flying off the stage. As soon as she landed, her body disappeared.

"So that's it," Hiei said. "As soon as they exit the perimeter of the stage, they die. Ha! It's too easy." Hiei gave a wide smirk with that last comment.

"Whatever, I'm just glad it worked!" I said with a sigh.

"Yes, not bad for a first-timer. Though you might want to try being a little more creative next time." Hiei said sarcastically.

"Yeah.... whatever...." I said, totally unamused. This was no time for joking around, especially since my next opponent was coming. We both looked over as the middle door opened, and smoke emerged along with an unclear figure. As soon as the smoke cleared me and Hiei stared, a little unsurprised by the person who stood there.

"So, it's that annoying girl this time...." Hiei said.

I nodded as I stared at my good friend and fellow Spirit Detective trainee Yuki. The only noteworthy thing about this illusion was that she was missing her newly-acquired cat ears and tail.

"So this means she won't have any of her new powers?" I asked.

"That's right." Hiei replied. "These illusions must have been prepared in advance, before anyone was aware that you or she had special abilities."

"Makes sense," I said.

Suddenly the illusion smiled widely and screamed "Mo-mo!" with great joy. She ran over, and glomped me like she usually would. I was a little taken aback....

"Fool! Don't let her do that!" Hiei yelled nervously.

But before I could do anything, Yuki had thrown me to the ground with all her force. My head was the first part of me to make contact with the floor, and it hurt like hell. While I was lying there in pain, Yuki kicked me hard in the ribs. I bounced a little ways over, and Yuki ran up beside me, lifting her foot to stomp on me. But before she could bring her foot down, I grabbed her by the ankle and tripped her. I rolled over, and shoved my elbow into her ribs. Then I got onto my feet and quickly moved away before she could retaliate. She stood up, and we stared each other down while getting into ready positions.

"Idiot, use your power! You don't have enough training to win this with hand-to-hand combat." Hiei instructed.

He was right, of course. But what was I supposed to do? I can't attack the way I did Timara, she's too on-guard. I thought about Hiei said earlier, and realized that being creative was exactly what I needed to do. Pity I'm not usually good at spontaneous creativity.... The only thing I can do is think about how I would defeat the real Yuki. I mean, she does act exactly like the Yuki I know.... Say, now there's an idea!

With that I focused on gathering my aura a few feet in front of me. I started out as a clump, but then I closed my eyes, and imagined exactly what I wanted it to look like. Sure enough, when I opened my eyes, I saw our good friend Kurama.

The illusion stared at my creation for a few seconds, then it smiled widely, blushed and screamed: "OMG! It's Kurama!" Then it sprung forward and glomped my aura-Kurama. I resisted the urge to shout out in joy, and focused. Just as I wanted, the illusion exploded, and sent Yuki flying outside the ring. Like all last one, she disappeared.

"Yes! How's that for creativity!" I shouted confidently at Hiei, while motioning with my hands.

"I can't believe it fell into such a simple trap...." Hiei said with a large sweatdrop. "Please tell me the real Yuki's not so pathetic."

"No, Yuki's usually pretty smart and thinks things through well.... Until it comes to Kurama, then she just goes fangirl...." I replied.

"I see...." Was all Hiei could say about that. "Well, at any rate, I've gotta give you credit. That was some good craftsmanship with your aura."

"Well, yeah! I'm an artist!"

"Hm.... I guess that's why your power suits you so well...."

Then the third and final door opened, with the usual dramatic smoke to reveal.... Wait.... I looked up at Hiei whose eyes had become wide and filled with a mix of confusion and surprise. He was staring at the at the figure which emerged from the smoke; a small person with spiked black hair, a black cloak and red eyes.... Himself. I froze. This was just awkward....

"Look.... Hiei, I just.... Well, this is obviously a joke! I mean, really...." I stuttered.

"Um, yeah.... Whatever." Hiei clearly wasn't buying it.

The newly appeared Hiei gave a cocky grin and disappeared. It caught me totally off-guard.

"Look out!" Hiei screeched.

But before I could even comprehend what I heard, I felt a hard pain in the side of my face and everything became a blur. It took a moment for me to realize I had been sent flying, and then I crashed into the floor and rolled quite a ways. I looked over at the Hiei who had just punched me, and saw him smiling with enjoyment. Then I got back on my feet and readied myself, though I wasn't quite sure what I was going to do.

"I hope that taught you to keep your guard up!" Hiei yelled down at me. "If he'd used his sword, you wouldn't have your head!"

"Okay, I get it! But what am I supposed to do?! Needless to say, I don't stand a chance against you.... Him.... Whatever!"

"Just.... Stay alert, and try to anticipate his moves."

"Right...." I said, though I knew that was impossible for me.

Again, the illusion disappeared. But this time, instead of waiting for him to attack, I decided to play it safe. I quickly concentrated my aura to completely surround me. When the fake Hiei's sword made contact with my aura, it simply bounced off, causing him to take a few steps back.

"That's good, keep it up." Hiei told me.

"Sure...." I replied. Though in truth, I was starting to get a little tired.

The illusion looked closely at me for a few moments, and then took a few steps back. He then proceeded to remove his cloak, as well as the bandages which surrounded his right arm. Both mine and Hiei's eyes widened, as we knew where this was going....

"But.... I can't even beat you using regular attacks.... How the hell am I supposed to beat the Dragon of the Darkness Flame?!" I said, beginning to panic.

"If I were you, I'd focus more on staying alive.... That attack could kill us both...." Hiei replied, though it didn't inspire much confidence.

I looked over at the fake Hiei, who was now surrounded by a black flame that was only getting more intense by the second. I knew he'd keep powering up for a short while before actually unleashing the Dragon, so I had - Wait, now there's an idea....

Once again I used my aura to surround my entire body, and then I ran straight towards the fake Hiei. I heard Hiei yell something like "You fool!" But I ignored him. Like he said, the Dragon would probably kill us anyway, so I might as well try and fight back. As I ran I felt the black fire burning me, but at least my aura was protecting me from being instantly incinerated. I saw the fake Hiei's eyes widen as he realized what I was doing. He threw his right hand forward in an attempt to prematurely launch the Dragon, but it was too late. With a loud anime battle cry I threw both my hands forward, shooting out as much of my aura as possible. The blast not only sent the illusion flying outside the stage, but it tore him to pieces.

I'm not really sure what happened after that.... All I remember is seeing my badly burnt hands, and finally noticing the pain throughout my body. Then everything went black.


	9. Chapter 9

***BRITTANY'S POV***

I woke up to find I was being carried by Kurama. Again. He looked like his fights had gone pretty well; He had a few cuts, but that was all. Hiei, on the other hand, looked horrid; With several more-or-less severe injuries.

"What the hell happened to sparkey-chan?" I questioned, not noticing that Kuwabara and Yusuke were also slightly damaged.

"What about us?!" Yusuke exclaimed.

"What about you?" I muttered, feeling tired and pissy. "So, who gave shorty a beating?" I asked. The three boys shrugged. Hiei refused to say who his opponents were.

"So how'd you fair out?" Yusuke asked.

"My younger sisters, then Marise, then Youko and Shuichi." I stated, frowning as I remembered my last fight. Hiei almost laughed, as he invaded my memory. Almost. It came out more as a snort-chuckle kinda thing.... Yusuke looked at Hiei quizzically.

"Youko had her purring...." Hiei said, holding back his laughter.

"What?!" Yusuke and Kuwabara laughed as I looked away, blushing in shame.

Damn.... I thought to myself. Revenge is a real bitch!

_Yes it is_.... I heard a voice say. I could practically hear Hiei's smirk. Go invade someone else's thoughts, stupid telepath, like Mo-mo's!

_She's unconscious._ He pointed out. Well, while you're in my head who'd you fight? But this time, I got no response. He must have left.

"How'd Youko do it, Hiei?" Kuwabara asked eager to try it out.

You try ANYTHING, Kuwabara, and I'll cram your head up Yusuke's ass." I warned.

"Why me?" Yusuke complained.

"Because," I said. "I wouldn't be able to catch Hiei, and I love Kurama too much. Anyways, who'd you all fight?"

"I wound up against Mom, Kuwabara and Keiko." Yusuke muttered, shuddering slightly.

"I got sis, Urameshi and Yukina. Oh, that last fight was soooo hard!" Kuwabara said, nearly in tears. I heard Hiei growl.

"Well, after you passed out, Aiyoku-san, I had to fight my mother, Hiei and Youko." Kurama replied. I then looked expectantly at Hiei.

"I'm not telling you who I - "

"Not you. Mo-mo. She looks pretty banged up herself." I said, realizing that my friend was burnt badly all over her body.

"Oh. Uh, she fought her sister, you and...." He paused. "Some stranger I don't know."

Suddenly, Mo-mo spoke up in a tired, half-asleep voice: "What're you talking 'bout Hiei, you were my last fight...."

I blinked twice, and then burst out laughing, along with Kuwabara, Yusuke and Kurama. It wasn't so much that Mo-mo was fighting Hiei, but that Hiei was trying to hide it. I got out of Kurama's arms, seeing as my ankle felt totally fine now. Odd, I thought, but overall ignored it. We walked up to a door that was emanating with heat.

"Well, that's the only way forward...." Mo-mo said, as she was now standing and injury-less as well. I nodded and the door open. A blast of heat ran past us. We stepped in, and once again the door closed and locked behind us. The air was heavy and moist. Surprisingly I felt fine; In fact, I felt cold.... I looked forward and saw the reason for the steamy air. Five feet away was a very long sea of lava.

"Okay, that's new...." I muttered, only to see the three humans - well, two and a half - gasping for air. Even Kurama and Hiei seemed uncomfortable.

"So how do we get out of here?" Yusuke gasped. Even Kurama had no idea. The doors were shut tight, and not even Hiei could jump over that much lava.

"We could have Kurama's plants - " Yusuke began, but I cut him off.

"They would burn, genius."

Yusuke slumped to the floor, rubbing his head, out of ideas.

"Hm...." I pondered. "Lots of moisture in the air.... If I can hold it long enough...." I looked over the distance of our next obstacle and grinned.

"What are you so happy about?" Hiei growled.

"You're all about to owe me." I turned around and started walking towards the lava. I put my hands out, searched for the numbing feeling, held it, and then released it. A wave of ice shot out over the lava immediately, cooling the room. I ran out over it and stood in the middle, so it'd be easier for me to hold.

"Uh, is that safe?" Kuwabara asked.

"Shut up and go!" I snapped, struggling to hold my concentration.

"You'll kill yourself." Hiei stated simply.

"Just run, dammit." I growled, beginning to tremble slightly.

It felt freezing to release this much energy, and my body wanted me to hold onto it. Mo-mo was the first to step out onto the ice. She was soon followed by Hiei, Yusuke, and Kuwabara. Kurama frowned slightly from his spot on the other side, and then he too ran across.

"Hiei," The fox demon said as he ran. "You see it too." Hiei nodded, and they looked over to see that, surprisingly quickly, ice was covering me. Of course I had already realized that. "It's probably an instinctual measure of self-defense."

Kurama made it to the other side just as the ice underneath collapsed. I wasn't unconscious. Just too tired to stop what was happening. A sphere of ice formed around me and I just fell towards the lava. I exhaled sharply as my little bubble hit the ground and I wacked my head against the very solid ice of my shield. I suppose I should have been surprised that I wasn't melted into nothing, but I was too tired for my brain to function properly.

At first I just lay there, my head ringing. I heard two taps, and my little bubble shattered. I was too tired to uphold it anyways. I just lay on the ground muttering curses under my breath.

"Ladies shouldn't talk that way." A voice said to me. I opened my eyes slightly, and saw the blurry image of a figure with black hair, red eyes and black clothing.

"Shut the hell up, Hiei." I growled, sitting with my head cradled in my hands; My sad attempt at nursing a flourishing headache.

"I'm not Hiei." The voice said with a light chuckle.

"Don't lie, you...." I stopped and actually looked at my tormentor in focus. "You're right.... Hiei's much shorter, and he doesn't have any visible scars.... He's cuter too, like a kid almost."

The look-alike did an anime faint. "Are you saying I'm not cute?"

"Aw, shut up!" I said with an annoyed tone. "Where am I anyway?"

"Gosh, she sounds like Ayame...." The guy muttered, ignoring me.

"Hey!" I yelled into his ear. "Who are you?!"

"Ow!" He growled. "You don't have to yell...."

"Well, then don't ignore me." I said, shrugging.

"She really is like Ayame...." He muttered. I cleared my throat. "Okay, okay. My name's Koray, and you'll meet Ayame soon enough. Unfortunately, I can't tell you exactly where you are. And the others have to arrive before I can tell you what's going on, so until then you're just gonna have to wait here with me."

I frowned, but accepted his answer and waited silently for whatever else was to come.


	10. Chapter 10

***MARISE'S POV***

We all stared in horror as the ice under our friend collapsed, and she fell into the lava. We rushed to the edge, and looked down, but all we saw was the steaming lava. Our friend must have already burned away.

"Brittany...." I whispered with tears building up in my eyes.

"No.... Why'd this have to happen?!" Yusuke yelled while falling to his knees, trying to hold back a mountain of tears. Kuwabara's waterworks were already in full swing, while Hiei and Kurama just stood there; Kurama with a mournful expression on his face, and Hiei hiding all trace of emotion as usual.

"Brittany.... What do we do now?" I said through my tears.

"There's only one thing we can do.... Finish this mission!" Kuwabara stated. "Yuki-san died in the most honourable way to allow us to continue on. So let's not put her sacrifice to vain."

Everyone nodded in agreement. And with that, everyone who was crying wiped away their tears and we all continued on.

We walked down a tunnel that was dark and wet. No one spoke at all. We were readying ourselves for whatever was to come. Surprisingly enough, nothing happened. We had been walking for a long while, and we were all fine. Finally, we saw a light which most likely indicated the end of the tunnel. We also noticed that there was a figure standing in front of the exit as well. We stopped walking, but then it began to approach us. As it got closer we could tell that 'it' was a girl. She had long blond hair, fox ears, crimson eyes and a fox tail that swished back and forth as she walked. She wore a traditional kimono that was white with many colored flowers.

"Who the hell are you? Our next opponent?!" Yusuke yelled at her angrily.

"Not really.... My name is Ayame. I take it you've finally come for the ones who were captured."

"You monster! How dare you kidnap Yukina! Just to let you know, for every time you've hurt her I'll repay you seven-fold!" Kuwabara yelled.

The girl's eyes filled with rage. "First of all, you annoying human, it's wrong to make assumptions! You don't know for sure it's me who did this! And just to let you know, I'd NEVER harm Yukina!"

Everyone stared, confused at Ayame's strange behaviour. But they knew they needed a plan.

"Actually, we're not assuming." Kurama said. Everyone turned to look at him with puzzled expressions.

"What do you mean?" Ayame asked.

"In Genkai's temple, where the note was left, I noticed something that others would overlook: Sand. There was too much sand in the temple, especially where the note was left. And just now, when your anger flared, I noticed sand beginning to gather at your feet. Therefore, how could it not be you?"

"Interesting analysis, Kurama...." Ayame said with a smile. "Though sadly incorrect."

"Alright, I've had enough of this!" Yusuke shouted. "From here, you're going to give us Yukina before we get even more pissed off, then we're going to get revenge on you for killing Yuki-san!"

"Yuki? You mean the annoying girl with cat ears? We never killed her." Ayame explained, a little taken aback that they actually though she was dead.

"What?!" Everyone shouted at once. "Well then where is she?! Is she alright?!"

"Well, she's probably got a migraine, since I left her with Koray.... How about we go see her." Ayame replied casually, as she turned around and started walking out of the tunnel. We followed her, and wound up in a large room that was more or less empty except for two figures at the far end. One was standing, had thick black hair and wore all black. Come to think of it, he kinda looked like Hiei. The other was a girl who was sitting on the floor. She had short, blond hair, cat ears and cat tail. We all immediately recognized her as our friend Brittany.

Mixed cries of "Yuki"s and "Fai"s came from us, as we ran over to her.

"Oh, thank God you guys are here!" She said desperately as I hugged her.

"We thought you fell in the lava and died...." I told her.

"I thought I was going to die too, but then this guy saved me.... Unfortunately." She said as she got to her feet and pointed at the guy with black hair who resembled Hiei. I took a closer look, and then it finally clued in.

"Holy shit!" I screamed.

"What is it?!" Everyone asked.

"That's Koray! I made him for a fanfic!" I said, while starting to freak out.

"See! I told you I'm not insane!" Yuki yelled at Koray.

"And like I told you, you're in denial." Koray replied.

"I am not!" Yuki screamed.

"See? You are." He said with a playful smile. Yuki gave a loud cry of frustration.

"Well, that aside, what do you two want with us?" Kurama asked.

"Hm.... Ayame, do you want to explain?" Koray said to the girl who had led us here.

"No." Ayame said flatly.

"OMFG!" Yuki yelled out loud. "That's Ayame, my OC!"

"Wait.... You mean the one from the YYH story? That's weird...." I said. But it's true. When your see your Ocs in the world you made them for, it's a little awkward....

"Wait.... What's an OC?" Everyone else in the room inquired.

"It's –"

"Never mind, Yuki. They wouldn't get it anyway...." I said.

"Aw.... Okay." Yuki said, disappointed.

"Um, I think Koray was going to tell us something." Kurama said, trying to get everyone to focus on the matter at hand.

"Yeah, I was. The truth is, me and Ayame organized this little ordeal, along with Genkai, to prepare you for an upcoming event." Koray explained.

"What kind of event?" Yusuke asked.

"A tournament. The prize being the ice maiden Yukina." The Hiei look-alike replied.

"What?!" We all exclaimed.

"Why does everything here to come down to a tournament?" I wondered out loud.

"Beats me." Koray said. "But that's the way things are done."

"What if we refuse to participate?" Kurama said firmly.

"That won't be an issue." Koray said. "After all, you have to win in order to rescue Yukina."

"Though like I explained earlier, Koray...." Ayame inferred, attracting everyone's attention. "You and I will be the champions. There's no need to give them false hopes. I will be the one who saves Yukina."

"Wait a minute, aren't you guys the ones organizing this whole thing?" Kuwabara asked. "If you want Yukina that badly, why not just take off with her?"

"What makes you think we're the ones behind the tournament?" Koray said. "We were informed of Yukina's kidnapping, and the tournament, by Spirit World. Then we went to speak with Genkai, and came up with the idea of organizing these trials to test you."

"Wha...." We all stared, speechless.

"Oh, and just to let you know, the tournament begins in two months, so I suggest you use the time you have for training – especially for your new teammates – since I've heard the competition is pretty intense. You'll be informed of an exact date and place at a later time."

"Another tournament, eh? Perfect! Another chance to kick ass!" Yusuke said confidently.

"Say what you will, but like I said; Koray and I will win."Ayame stated.

"Well, I look forward to seeing you kids at the tournament." Koray said with a wave of his hand.

Suddenly, the ground underneath us disappeared, and me and my friends found ourselves falling yet again.


	11. Chapter 11

***BRITTANY'S POV***

We all landed a bit more gracefully this time. Except for Yusuke, Kuwabara, and Mo-mo; who all wound up in a pile at Hiei's feet.

"Get up morons." Hiei growled, probably annoyed that we didn't come back with Yukina.

"We're back at the temple…" muttered Yusuke as he stood up. I walked over and helped mo-mo up.

"Looks like it!" I said, with a false cheerfulness in my voice.

"So we have two months…" Mo-mo stated more than asked.

"Yes, so we should all train hard. I know the perfect diet and workout plan to-" Kurama started, but was cut off but Yusuke.

"Actually, Kurama, Kuwabara and I were gunna train with the old lady…" Yusuke said, indicating to the old trainer that had come back with the group of teenagers. She nodded, agreeing to train the boys rather than defending the two who backed away slowly.

"Well, Hiei, Mo-mo, Aiyoku-san-" Kurama was cut off again.

"Well, I was kinda hoping Hiei'd help me train… Actually." Mo-mo said, looking at the smallest of the group, who also seemed to pale ever so slightly at the thought of Kurama's training.

"Hiei?" Kurama asked the short demon, who was quick to agree with Mo-mo.

"I see…" Kurama sighed. The rest of the group ran off, leaving Kurama and I just standing there.

"Yay!" I giggled, ecstatic that I get to train with not only my current object of fan-obsession, but also at the fact that I get to train with somebody who can make me a lot stronger in a short period of time. "I'll try my best!" I said smiling brightly.

Kurama stared in the direction his friends had ran off without *Cough, Cough abandoned Cough, Cough* him. He then turned to face me and smiled politely.

"Well, let's go then." He said as he began to walk away. I ran afew steps to catch up to him then walked afew feet behind him, "Aiyoku-san?"

"Hm?" I replied, partially spaced out.

"Who are Koray and Ayame?" Kurama asked, "You and Mo-mo said you created them?"

"Mm-Hm! Koray is Mo-mo's character. In her story, he's a really strong fire demon from a different dimension! He's gone through so much torture that he isn't capable of feeling pain anymore. He's way, WAY over S class…"

"Ah…" Kurama said a slightly worried tone to his voice.

"With Ayame, she's also really strong. Saying she's way above S class is an understatement, but it's the same with Koray… Ayame has an impenetrable barrier of sand that she can use as offence and defense… although she can control all sand, she has some in the gourd she usually has on her back which is infused with her yoki that's faster and stronger than just the regular sand she controls. She's really, REALLY, protective of Yukina."

"Oh…" Kurama replied as he seemed to drift off into his thoughts.

We continued to walk on in a slightly awkward silence. For a while, the hairs on the back of my neck were on end, and I felt like there was somebody watching us. But I didn't want to disturb Kurama with my usual paranoia when he seemed so deep in thought. After looking over my shoulder for the zillionth time in the last half hour I decided to bring my worries to Kurama's attention, at least he could tell me I was being silly and sooth my paranoia.

"Kurama… I think there's someone following us…" I muttered quietly. I stiffened when he replied with:

"I was wondering when you'd notice."

We both stopped walking, and I looked around nervously.

"Come out." Kurama commanded.

"As you wish." A calm, refined voice said from our right side. I jumped and swirled around to face whoever was following us. I screamed slightly when the cool voice whispered from behind me, "Why so nervous, Kitten?" Water immediately shot up to where he had been standing, and I turned around to face the unknown opponent. I squeaked again when two arms wrapped around my waist and shoulders, pulling me up against the mystery guy and away from Kurama.

"Let her go." Kurama said firmly.

"Now why would I let go of such a pretty prize?" He asked.

"I'm no prize, I'm not even pretty." I growled in defiance. It just caused the guy to chuckle at my antics.

"How silly you are, Kitten." He chuckled into my ear.

"My name's not Kitten!" I yelped as I struggled out of his grip, to no avail.

"Then what is it?" He whispered into my ear, I shivered slightly. This guy was scaring the hell out of me.

"Aiyoku, Faiyuki. Might have been a pleasure if you were out of my personal bubble." I said with a sarcastic tinge to my voice.

"Who are you?" Kurama asked cautiously.

"Oh! How rude of me! I am Kirane. Vampire prince." Kirane smiled as he used my shoulder as a chin rest. "Hmmm, such a pretty name, but I think I like Kitten better…" He whispered.

"Personal bubble, personal bubble, personal bubble, personal bubble…" I chanted under my breath repetitively. He smiled and let go as he took a step back, giving me an opportunity to see him. Kirane had Onyx eyes and Violet hair that he had tied into a low ponytail that hung over his shoulder. He was around 5'9 with a slender build.

"I'll be seeing you again, my little Kitten." He said as he seemingly disappeared.

"I'm not your anything." I growled with a shudder. After Kurama was sure I wasn't injured at all we continued forward.

By the time we had gotten to the cave like shelter where Jin, Shi-shi, and the rest of the "Kurama Boot-camp Gang" from before the Makai tournament in the anime had trained, my feeling of paranoia had totally disappeared.

"We can rest up tonight and start training tomorrow." Kurama said as he lay down. I blinked and realized that we were sleeping on the floor. I found a small pond that didn't seem to be their when I watched the anime, and lay down next to it. I lay on my stomach, using my arms as a pillow. I closed my eyes and swiftly started towards sleep. Tomorrow was a going to be a big day.

"G'night Kurama." I muttered, falling asleep before I could hear the soft reply of Kurama.

"Goodnight, Yuki."


	12. Chapter 12

***MARISE'S POV***

Me and Hiei walked in silence. It's not like there was much to talk about, though it was still awkward. Besides that, I was still getting over the fact that he actually agreed to train me. I had been fully prepared for him to call me a stupid girl and go into one of his "I have no reason to help you" speeches. But then again, I guess he figured training me was better than being bossed around by Kurama for the next two months.

"Hey, uh, where are we going?" I finally asked, as the forest around me was becoming more and more unrecognizable.

"Does it matter?" He replied.

"I guess not...." I said with a sigh. This was still awkward. "So what's this training going to be like?"

"Hm, lets just say that by the end of tomorrow you'll be screaming for your mommy, and by the end of the week you'll be begging for your life."

I started laughing. This was why he's my favourite character. Hiei looked at me with an expression that could have been taken for confusion, but it was more like weirded-out.

"What's your problem?" He said to me.

"Ahhh, nothing. I just love it when you throw around threats." He continued to stare, and I realized that I'd said the wrong thing. "I'll just.... Shut up now."

And so we kept on walking, though the silence this time was more painful than before. I didn't bother trying to make conversation with him. After all, I suck at it almost as much as he does.

"Hey...." Hiei said to me.

"Yeah?"

"Tell me about those two from before.... Koray and Ayame. You and that annoying friend of yours seemed to know about them."

"Sure...." I said, though I wasn't about to tell him that Koray is a character I made up to be his father. "In terms of power, they're both above S-class."

"Wait did you say 'above'?" Hiei said with a worried tone.

"Yeah.... Koray's a fire demon, and Ayame can manipulate sand....." I had kept talking, though I didn't think he was listening to me. He started muttering to himself.

"Above S-class.... That's gotta be impossible.... But if it's true, that means we're screwed.... And what if they bring more people who are that strong....?!"

"Um.... Anything else you want to know....?" I said. I mean, its really odd to just listen to someone talk to them self.

Hiei didn't answer right away. He was still lost in his own thoughts. "Why does that guy named Koray look so much like me? It's been bothering me ever since we first saw him!"

"Oh.... It's probably just a coincidence." I said, though I knew he probably didn't believe me.

"What are you -" he began, but something caught his attention.

We both turned around to see a young, pale man dressed in a black cloak. His onyx hair went down just below his shoulders and his eyes were violet. He started walking towards us.

"God, how far into the forest are you going? Usually I'd just wait, but this is taking too long!"

"Who are you?" Hiei demanded.

"Patience, my fiery friend...." The man said as he gave a smile, then disappeared. I was taken aback for a moment, and then found myself being carried bridal-style and looking into the eyes of our new acquaintance.... If you could even call him that.

"My name is Yuki. And for your information, I'm a vampire." He smiled some more. "I've merely come to say hello to this young lady, oh, what's you name again sweetie?"

"Uhm.... Thats Mari.... Err.... Momo...." I said reluctantly. "Wait.... Did you say you're a vampire? Oh my God, that's awesome!"

"Alright, drop her!" Hiei screamed, pointing his sword at the vampire.

"But that's no fun! I want to play with her for a while."

"Screw off! She's my human, go find your own!" Wow.... How many fangirls wish Hiei would say that about them?

Yuki gave a devious and playful smile. "_Your_ human? I see.... I had no idea the infamous Hiei was so naughty!"

Hiei's face went completely red, and his jaw dropped. I screamed out in protest, even though my mind was....Elsewhere.... Having thoughts.... That I shouldn't have....

"T-that's not what I meant!" Hiei stammered, trying to mend his broken ego.

"You naughty, naughty boy! And to such a sweet, innocent girl...." Yuki said as he snuggled me. Hiei, meanwhile, was growling and probably trying to come up with an extremely good insult. I guess it was my turn to try and get him to leave.

"Uh... Yuki.... It's been fun meeting you and all, but we're kinda busy.... So if you don't mind -"

"Oh, that's right. You're training for the tournament, aren't you." Yuki said with a smile. Hiei got out of his death plans and started to listen.

"You know about it?" I asked.

"Well, me and my brothers are participating. And I must say, we're especially looking forward to fighting your team. After all, you guys are the only team with human participants.... And besides that, your blood smells absolutely delicious!" Yuki said, putting his face close to mine.

While a part of me found it flattering that a vampire thinks my blood is good, the other part of me was terrified.

"Unfortunately, brother says I have to wait until the tournament before I can taste you...." Yuki continued with a sigh. "Brother can be so stubborn sometimes! How can he deny me such fine prey?!" Once again, I found myself snuggled as Yuki put on a sad face.

"If you're not here to do anything other than annoy us, leave!" Hiei screamed at the vampire, while motioning with his sword.

"You know, you're really getting on my nerves.... I think at the tournament I'll put you in your place, just as soon as I'm through with this one." Suddenly, Yuki threw me and I landed on Hiei, who was quick to shove me away.

"See you in two months, my pretty." The vampire said with a wave and a smile. Then he disappeared.

Me and Hiei stood there in silence. I think we were both still unsure of what that was all about....

"Hm...."

"What?" Hiei said to me impatiently.

"Well, if he _must_ drink my blood, I wonder if he would turn me into a vampire."

Hiei brought his face to his palm. "That's what your thinking about....?!"

"Well, yeah. Besides the unbearable pain you get when becoming one, it'd be pretty sweet. Unmatchable strength, enhanced senses, eternal life.... I think a few days pain is well worth it."

"You realize you would have to feed off humans." Hiei said to me.

"Well, yeah. I could live with that...."

Hiei stared at me with wonder. "Whatever.... Let's keep going."

And so we started walking again. By the time we reached.... Wherever it is that Hiei wanted us to reach.... It was night time.

"God.... I have no idea where we are, but it sure feels good to not have to walk anymore! I look forward to starting our training in the morning." I said with a yawn.

"In the morning?! We're starting now!" Hiei said to me with annoyance in the tone of his voice.

"Come on! It's already night! And besides, I'm sure after that little incident earlier we could both use some time to clear our heads."

Hiei hesitated for a moment, then finally agreed. He quickly found his way into a tree, while I lay on the ground, too lazy to try and find a comfy branch.

And quietly, the both of us fell asleep.


	13. Chapter 13

***BRITTANY/YUKI/AIYOKU'S POV***

After two months of training I really didn't feel much of a difference. Kurama had instructed me, fed me what can only be defined as crap, and taught me different battle tactics on how to survive different scenarios.

I definitely missed Mo-mo, but I really didn't have time to let my mind wander. Kurama would, out of the blue, lash out with an attack to test my guard. After being nailed a few times I got the point. Focus. And yet after all of this, we were still on a last name basis.

"Aiyoku-san, are you ready to go?" Kurama asked politely.

"One sec, I've got oh so much to pack." I said sarcastically. I stood from my sitting position and walked towards the opening of the cave, turned around, and looked back at what had been my home for the last two months. "God, I can't wait to take a shower and sleep in an actual bed!" I sighed, "Lets go?" Kurama smiled, politely as always, and followed.

"Aiyoku-san?" Kurama asked.

"Hmm?" I mumbled.

"Do you know where you're going?" A relatively large sweat-drop slid down the back of my head.

"Uhhh....Nope!" I said with a bright smile. It was Kurama's turn to sweat-drop.

"We've been going in the wrong direction for about five minutes..." Kurama stated with an awkward smile. My smile spread slightly, giving a scary feel as opposed to a friendly one.

"Then why am I still leading?" I said in a scary tone, with a twitch. He smiled again, and then turned around and walked in the opposite direction. I followed him.

I hummed one of my favourite songs and put my hand in my pocket. My fingers brushed against some round plastic thing.

"OMIGODLINESS YEEESSS!" I danced as I pulled out my Mp3 player. Kurama looked at me curiously. I inspected it for damage and found the battery slot wasn't even there anymore. And when I turned it on, the battery was displayed as full. "Awesome!" I grinned as I put on my headphones and hit shuffle. I sighed with pleasure at the familiar tunes. I grinned as one of the best songs EVER started playing, and sang along.

"_When you find me in the morning, hanging on a warning; Ohhh... The Joke Is On You! You said you were pretending; here's to all happy endings! Ohhh... The Joke Is On You!" _I'm definitely not the best singer in the world. In fact, I'm really bad. But I don't care. It's fun, and that's all that matters. Kurama chuckled but more or less ignored my off-key singing.

"I think we're here now, Aiyoku-san." Kurama once again smiled awkwardly.

"Mhmm." I sighed as I put my music player back in my pocket.

"Yuki!" Mo-mo said with a grin.

"I found my music player!" I grinned. Mo-mo face-palmed.

"I missed you too." Mo-mo muttered sarcastically.

"Of course I missed you! I thought it was so obvious I didn't have to say it." I smiled brightly.

"Lazy ass." Mo-mo muttered.

"Am I?" I asked, my feline tail wagging teasingly.

"Shut up." She growled.

"Mmk!" I grinned brighter. She turned around to walk away, and I sprung at her. She turned around and quickly shot a ball of energy at me. I was mid-air so there was no way to dodge, so I made a platform of ice and did a handspring off of it, pulling it over her head as I flipped over her. I quickly divided the molecules turning the ice into freezing cold water that I let fall onto her head. "Cool off!" I teased.

"Shut up!" she grinned, "You attacked me!" I smiled, and ducked under a punch that definitely would have hurt, and then round house kicked at her legs; she jumped to avoid it and I grabbed her leg with ice. I flicked out my wrists and long, shining metal threads lashed out. I wrapped the threads around her arms, legs, throat, and torso; all the while controlling the threads with water. This would have been a win, if Mo-mo hadn't been able to bring her scythe down, letting it rest against my neck. The serious looks on our faces - or the serious look on her face and the sadistic smile on mine - turned into giggling and chuckling as we released each other.

"We sooo have to do that more often!" I grinned, Mo-mo nodded, "Ahh... that was fun. You've definitely gotten stronger!"

"You've done pretty well too, for being insane." Mo-mo smirked.

"Did I?" I asked with a smile. We both blinked.

"You've been around Kurama/Hiei to much. You're smiling too much/ smirking like him." Mo-mo and I said in unison. This brought on another fit of laughter.

"Idiots." Hiei frowned.

"I missed you too Sparkey-chan." I smiled.

"Will you give that stupid name a rest, already?!" Hiei growled.

"Nope" I smiled.

"Hn." He 'replied' with a twitch.

"Where are Yusuke and Kuwabara?" Mo-mo asked.

"Hmmm... Unfashionably late, I suppose." I smiled knowing they were right behind me.

"Hey, guys! How's it goin'?" Yusuke called out to us, with Kuwabara following right behind him. We all smiled and waved in response. Everyone except Hiei, that is.

"It's nice to see you two again. I take it your training with Master Genkai went well." Kurama said with a smile.

"Erm... Well, you know...." Yusuke started as he and Kuwabara shuttered at the thought of the past two month's training. "Never mind that! We gotta focus on rescuing Yukina-"

"That's right!" Kuwabara inferred with hearts in his eyes. "My love is suffering, and it's our duty to save her! Now let's get going!"

Kuwabara proceeded to rush us towards the tournament dome. My ears and tail twitched with excitement. Mo-mo smirked at me, and I returned it with another sadistic smile.

"Is it just me, or..." Kuwabara said, terrified.

"Yeah, they've gotten kinda scary...." Yusuke shuddered.

***AT THE TOURNAMENT DOME***

"WELCOME! Demons and Demonesses alike! To the ICE PEARL TOURNAMENT!" The young male voice of a dog demon rang out from the stadium speakers. He stood on the stage grinning in a childishly devious way. "Do to... _unfortunate_ circumstances, Koto has been deemed unsuitable to host this tournament." The boy chuckled sadistically, "So I, Daisuke, will be running the show!" He winked, leaving one amber eye open, and brushed some of his silver blonde hair out of his eyes with the flick of his wrist. Loud squeals of fan girls broke out all around the stadium. After a moment, Daisuke continued, "All contestants for the Ice Pearl Tournament please proceed to the desk at the back to register for the tournament!"

Hiei was right beside me, literally twitching to kill the poor guy on stage. Suddenly, from behind us, a loud voice rang out, "Let me GO Koray! I'm going to make the bastard tell me where Yukina is, and then I'm going to turn him inside out and shove his guts into any opening in his body!!!!" It was Ayame.

"That's no fun, I want to fight!" Koray chuckled as he literally held back Ayame.

"What's this? Is it just the two of you? You must really be arrogant." Yusuke scoffed at two demons that had made fools of us two months ago.

"Ah ha ha, perhaps it's you who shouldn't be so confident." Koray said as he smiled at us. "Ayame and I alone are enough to take out any group of competitors at this tournament."

"Is that so?" Kuwabara exclaimed loudly.

"Think of it this way," Ayame said, now that she had calmed down. "While you know nothing about us, we know everything about you."

"Oh yeah?!!" Yusuke and Kuwabara shouted at Koray and Ayame. Then the four of them became engaged in a loud argument, though it was really only Yusuke and Kuwabara who were loud.

"Should we go-" I was cut off by two arms slithering around my waist. I growled.

"Now, now, my little Kitten, there's no need to be in such a hurry." Kirane, the onyx-eyed, violet haired vampire whispered in my ear.

"My, my. Don't you look even more delicious today?" Said another vampire who was identical to Kirane, but with violet eyes and onyx hair.

"Yuki." Mo-mo growled.

"Yes?" Kirane's anti and I said in union.

"Not you, Fai. Him." Mo-mo sighed. I frowned, rejected, and I began to work on getting the arms off me.

"Who the hell are you two?" Yusuke said to the twin vampires, now that he and Kuwabara had parted with Koray and Ayame.

"Competitors." Yuki and Kirane said in unison.

"How dare you! Just what do you two jokers want with Yukina?" Kuwabara yelled at our two acquaintances.

"That is..."

"A secret." The twins each replied with a wink.

"Move yer arms or lose 'em." I glared down at the things wrapped around my waist. Kirane sighed but let go. "We have to go sign up! Bai-bai!" I said with a sadistic, yet sweet smile.

I grabbed on to Mo-mo who was fuming at the guy named Yuki, and dragged her to the desk at the back, where Hiei and Kurama awaited us. All the people and Demons just kinda moved out of our way when they saw our facial expressions. Sadistically sweet and pissed off to the point where hell is probably burning to a cinder.

"Don't you like us?" The vampire twins said in union, as they followed Mo-mo and I.

"No." I stated.

"Hell no." Mo-mo growled.

"We'll win you over then!" Yuki said. "We're in this tournament to, so if your masters lose to us, you're ours!"

"MASTERS?!" Mo-mo and I yelled.

"Who...?" I muttered.

"You know," Kirane stated, "The red-head, Kurama, and the little fire midget, Hiei."

"But they're not..." Mo-mo sighed.

"I'll get you one way or another, Kitten." Kirane smiled at me.

"In your dreams." I muttered as the vampires disappeared. Mo-mo and I filled out our part of the signup sheet, then handed it to Yusuke and Kuwabara who had come up behind us.

"Will all constants please go to your designated waiting rooms and wait to be called down for your fight!" Daisuke yelled through his mike.

"Yay!" I cheered, "A get in, get bloody, get out tournament!" Mo-mo chuckled, but was clearly as excited as I was. "Let's go!" I said in a cheery tone as I walked away towards the waiting rooms.


	14. Chapter 14

***MARISE'S POV***

"Say, we never got a chance to ask you guys how training went." Yusuke said while we waited for our team to be called to fight. We were sitting in a small room that had a few couches, and one window on the far wall.

"It was good." I said with a smile and a nod of my head.

"C'mon Mo-mo, answer honestly! We all know that training is what can only be described as living hell." Yuki said as she eyed Kurama. The fox demon simply smiled in response. "Especially since you were with Sparkey-chan!"

"Hn." Was all Hiei would say to her. He was probably upset that he still has to put with that ridiculous nickname.

Suddenly, we heard a knock at our door. Yusuke went to answer it, and when he opened the door, six familiar figures walked in.

"You guys?! What're you doing here?" Yusuke exclaimed as none other that Jin, Touya, Chu, Rinku, Suzuka and Shishiwakamaru walked in.

"Lookin' ta fight with you, we are!" Jin said in his thick Irish accent. I couldn't help but notice how pointy the wind master's ears were.

"So cute..." I muttered to myself. What can I say, pointy ears are simply adorable! Then again, Jin in general is adorable.

"OH... MY... GOD! It's the wind guy! I love yoooou!" Yuki exclaimed as she quickly jumped to her feet and glomped Jin.

"Looks like you've got an admirer." Rinku said to his teammate with a laugh.

"Oi mates, what's with the two beauts?" Chu asked in his usually sluggish Australian voice.

"These are our new teammates. Lemme introduce Mo-mo," Yusuke motioned to me. "And, um, Aiyoku Faiyuki..." He said with a sweatdrop as he motioned to the girl hanging off a struggling Jin.

"So, hey. You guys only came for a fight with Urameshi?" Kuwabara asked our visitors.

"That's pretty much it." Touya said in his soft voice.

"You bet." Rinku said. "But don't worry; when we win we'll return Yukina to you guys safely."

"Yeah, yeah. You guys can _try_ to win, but we're not gonna make it easy!" Yusuke bragged.

Then an announcement, voiced by Daisuke, came on the loudspeakers. _"The first round of the Ice Pearl tournament will begin shortly. Would Team Urameshi and Team Saint Beasts please come to the ring."_

"Well, we should let you guys go." Shi-shi said as he walked away.

"See ya later!" The others said as they followed their comrade.

**********

_"Alright, the moment you have all been waiting for has finally arrived! Ladies and Gentleman let the Ice Pearl Tournament begin!"_ Daisuke shouted into his mike. Following him, were loud screams from the large crowd gathered in the dome. _"And now I introduce the first two teams to fight: Team Urameshi, and Team Saint Beasts."_

We looked to the other side of the ring, to see our opponents. And sure enough, there stood Suzaku, Seiryuu, Byakko, and Genbu. The four Saint Beasts.

"Hold on!" Yusuke shouted with great surprise. "What're those four doing here??"

"Why are you so surprised?" Kurama said to him. "When you heard the team name 'Saint Beasts' on the loudspeaker, didn't it clue in?"

"Arg, NO! I'd completely forgotten about these guys! I mean, we KILLED them!" Yusuke excalimed.

"Well, obviously they've come back to life." I said to the failure of a Spirit Detective.

"Thinking back, I guess you never were too good at the detective part of your job." Yuki teased.

"Ah, Shaddup!" Yusuke whined.

_"Alright, teams, lets decide how you'll be fighting."_ Daisuke commanded.

"Well, well. Fancy seeing you four again." Suzaku said to us with a smirk.

"What's the deal, I thought you guys were dead!" Yusuke yelled at his previous enemies.

"'Were' is the correct term to use." Seiryuu replied. "You see, someone revived us. Not Spirit World, of course, but someone powerful nonetheless."

"And now that we're here, we'll win this tournament, take the ice maiden as our hostage, and force Spirit World to -"

_"Hey! Saint Beasts! No one gives a rats ass about what you're planning to do, so just decide how you want to fight already!"_ Daisuke yelled at our opponents.

"Look guys, there's a simple and quick way to end this." Yusuke started. "Let's duke it out in a battle-royal style match. Since we've got more people, two of us can sit out. Whadya say?"

"Sounds good to us." Suzaku said.

"Well, I think I'm going to sit this one out." Hiei said.

"Really? You seemed kind of excited to be fighting.... Why suddenly decide you don't want to?" I asked.

"Because it's boring fighting people I've already beat. You can take my place, Mo-mo. Wake me when it's over." Hiei said as he walked away, found a wall to sit against and fell asleep.

"Well, that's that. Now we need another person to sit out." Kuwabara said.

"I think I'll join Hiei." Kurama said.

"Wait, are you sure?" Yuki said to him.

"Of course, Aiyoku-san. Besides, you and Mo-mo are the ones who need experience in actual combat." Kurama replied with a smile, as he left to accompany Hiei.

"Okay, we've got our four members, now let's do this!" Yusuke exclaimed.

_"Alright folks, this round will be a four-on-four battle royal. You will fight until one of the teams is completely beaten. If you leave the ring, or get knocked down, you have until the count of ten to get back up. Now.... Let the first round of the Ice Pearl Tournament begin!"_

The four of us got into our battle poses, but the Saint Beasts didn't waste any time. They immediately charged forward towards us. Suzaku started shooting his lightning arrows at us, which we all dodged. But then Genbu morphed out of the ring below us and punched Yuki, while Byakko appeared behind me and did the same. I fell to the ground hard, but Kuwabara quickly helped me up. Yuki had been sent flying, but was caught by Yusuke. Before we could do anything, Seiryuu had frozen half our bodies in place. Yuki, still stuck in Yusuke's arms.

"Noooo! We are NOT starting this again! I refuse be carried!" Yuki yelled as she focused, and separated the ice that held us all, and then quickly jumped out of Yusuke's grasp.

"Not bad. So one of you can control ice," Seiryuu stated with a smirk. "It will certainly make things more interesting."

"You shouldn't be so confident!" Yusuke yelled. "It means we have you at a disadvantage!"

"Is that so?" Suzaku said as he shot a lightning arrow at the off-guard Spirit Detective. I quickly focused my energy, and shot an aura arrow of my own to deflect Suzaku's.

"Hmm, how interesting." Suzaku said with smile.

"Okay, we've gotta make the move this time! Yuki, you take Seiryuu, Mo-mo, you get Genbu, Kuwabara's got Byakko and I'll take Suzaku." Yusuke commanded.

"Alright!" We all agreed, as we instantly split up to face our opponent.

I focused my energy into my hand and shot an aura blast at the stone beast. He went to hit it away with his tail, but the attack blew it to pieces. I quickly ran up in front of him, now that he was distracted, and sliced him in half twice with my scythe. I would have like to say it was a victory, but Genbu was quick to have his body put back together. He went to punch me, but I dodged. I was then hit from behind by his tail, which was coming out of the ground. The attack sent me flying quite a ways across the ring. As I went to get up, an ice attack just nearly missed my face.

"Shit....!" I said, after nearly having a heart attack.

I looked over at Yuki, who seemed relatively unharmed, but while she could cancel out Seiryuu's ice attacks, she was having trouble keeping up with his speed, which nearly matched Hiei's.

"Pay attention, girly!" I heard Genbu yell from nearby. I quickly jumped up, avoiding a tail from the ground and a punch from the side.

In midair, I gathered my energy again, more than last time, and shot it at Genbu. He was blown to tiny pieces, but again started his regeneration quickly. I searched for the red stone, which I knew was the source of his regenerative abilities, but couldn't find it. That was odd... It was supposed to glow while being used.

"Ha! I bet I know what you're so surprised about, girly." Genbu said with an arrogant chuckle. "You can't find the source of my regeneration, right? Well that's because I don't need it anymore! When I was reborn I became stronger, and now I no longer need that stone to regenerate!" He started to laugh like an evil villain should.

Well, this was frustrating! Now I needed a different strategy.... But before I could think anything up, Yuki landed on the ground, nearby. I ran over and helped her to her feet.

"DAMN YOU, ICE MAN!" She yelled hysterically at Seiryuu. "JUST YOU WAIT! I'LL GET YOU EVENTUALLY!"

"Y-Yuki...." I started with a sweatdrop while Seiryuu laughed in the background. But then an idea hit me. "Hey, Yuki! Do you think you could help me in a minute?"

"Does it _look_ like I'm having that easy a time here?!" She said sarcastically with an irritated smile.

"Look, when I give the word, can you freeze Genbu for me? I'll cover your back."

"Fiiiine." She agreed. Then we both dodged a stone tail from the ground and ice attacks from above. I couldn't help but notice that the two months of training really did improve our abilities.

I started running, avoiding Genbu's attacks which were now coming in the form of rocks the size of basketballs. Once I had him where I wanted, I gathered my aura in my hand and shot it at the stone monster, turning him into gravel once again.

"NOW, YUKI!" I yelled.

On command, Yuki turned her attention to my opponent and froze the broken pieces, which then fell outside the ring. Ice came at her from behind, but I focused my energy into the form of a wall between her and Seiryuu. The ice master growled in frustration, as I took the energy that was acting as a wall, and shot it all at him. He dodged, but then his feet were frozen in place by Yuki, who was finished with Genbu. Now that he was caught off-guard, I quickly ran up to him and wasted no time slicing him in half with my scythe.

_"Genbu's body has remained outside the ring for ten seconds! He is now out of the match! And seeing as Seiryuu has been killed, he too is out if the match!"_ We heard the voice of Daisuke exclaim for the audience.

"YAY for teamwork!" Yuki yelled as she glomped me and held out a peace sign with her right hand.

"SHOTGUN!" We heard Yusuke yell from behind us, as he attacked at least six Suzakus. After being struck, each of them fell to the ground with a hard thud.

Then we heard a loud battle cry, as a badly beaten Kuwabara punched a nearly pulverized Byakko outside the ring, and into a state of unconsciousness.

Daisuke counted to ten for the oversized cat, then continued to announce. _"Seeing as all the members of Team Saint Beats have been defeated, Team Urameshi is the winner of the first round!"_ Loud screams were heard from all over the stadium, but we ignored them and walk over to where Hiei and Kurama were waiting.

"Certainly took you guys long enough!" Hiei scoffed at us.

"It was a good fight, with no casualties. I'm impressed." Kurama stated with his usual smile.

"Yeah, well it was definitely easier than I thought it'd be!" Yusuke exclaimed with an idiotic laugh.

"Speak for yourself, Urameshi! I was reminded why I never wanted to have to fight that guy ever again!" Kuwabara whined through huffs. He was certainly as worn out as he looked.

"GOD! That Seiryuu was a real pain in the ass!" Yuki complained. "I mean, he's almost as fast as Hiei, right? Jeez.... Thank God we were able to come up with a plan at the end."

"Yeah..." Was all I said in response. I felt a rush of tiredness come over me, and I was having trouble keeping my eyes open.

"You look tired, Mo-mo." Kurama said.

"Yeah, well.... I haven't really had a full night's sleep for the past two months...." I tried to sound casual, so as not to upset Hiei too much.

"Let's go get some rest. I think we all need it." Yusuke said. Then the six of us left the stadium. 


	15. Chapter 15

***BRITTANY/FAIYUKI/AIYOKU'S POV***

We all sat in the waiting room for our team in silence. Hiei was sitting on the windowsill and Kurama was leaning against the wall next to him with his arms crossed. Mo-mo was lying on the bench asleep. I was sitting on the bench opposite to Mo-mo listening to my Mp3. Yusuke and Kuwabara were pacing around.

_Would The Vampires and Kurama's Boot-Camp please prepare! You're battle starts in 5 minutes! All audience members please go back to your seats!"_ Daisuke yelled over the intercom. Kurama sweat-dropped at the team name the group had decided upon. I sighed.

"Why don't you boys go watch the fight? I want to take a nap and it's awkward to sleep in a room where there are people who are awake." I looked off to the side, not wanting to acknowledge how tired I really was.

"Hn." Hiei grunted, as he jumped off the windowsill and walked through the door.

"Yeah, yeah." Yusuke sighed as he dragged Kuwabara out of the room. Kurama just smiled at me as he left. I sighed after the door closed.

"Ahhh! I wanna showerrrr..." I whined. Suddenly the door opened. I looked up expecting to see the boys but instead a girl was standing there. She had black hair that was cropped short and dark brown, maybe black eyes. "Yes?" I asked coldly, bringing my guard up. In her hands the girl was holding two boxes. "Who are you?" I asked. The girl smirked.

"Akira. Kirane and Yuki made me deliver these to you. Just gifts for you. Nothing dangerous. Unfortunately." Akira circled around me, observing me and Mo-mo who was still asleep on the bench. "I don't know what they see in you two." She muttered.

Then suddenly she disappeared and reappeared just outside my ice barrier, which instinctively had shot around Mo-mo and I in defence. The ice cracked slightly under her fist, and my eyes widened slightly in shock. Then I glared and with a quick flip with my hand, the ice around me gathered and chased the girl out the door, closing it and locking it behind her. I picked up the boxes, and carefully took the lid off the one that said 'Kitten' in fancy letters on top.

Expecting something to jump out at me, I peered into the box. Surprisingly, it was an outfit. Just simple black track pants and a black tank-top. Mo-mo groggily sat up.

"Why the hell are you being so loud?" She growled at me. I just chucked the box at her. She looked at me with a confused expression, and then opened the box. She pulled out an outfit, similar to mine, but solid white. I burst out laughing as she glared at the garment. "Who the hell picked this out?" She muttered.

"Your fan-boy." I said sticking my tongue out. She looked at the clothes I had in my hands. I blinked at her.

"Hm...You look better in white than me. Let's-" Mo-mo started, as she inched towards me.

"Uhhh... Imma go shower!" I jumped up and ran to the shower room and locked the door behind me.

By the time I got out, ten minutes later, the fight had started and was playing on a small TV that was in the room. Since I had no other outfits with me, besides what I was wearing before, I ended up putting on the outfit from Kirane.

"They're not half bad." Mo-mo stated as she watched our two vampire stalkers dance circles around all the members of 'Kurama boot camp'. Suddenly Akira, who was on the side lines growled.

"I'm bored! Actually fight!" She complained loudly. "Entertain me!"

"Awwww, our Chibi Aki is so cuuute~" Kirane and Yuki sang in union, grinning at the girl.

"I'M NOT YOUR CHIBI ANYTHING!" she yelled.

"Fine~" the boys once again said simultaneously.

"Holy Whip!" Yuki yelled out, flicking his wrist as a long, bright white whip emerged out of thin air.

"Shadow Whip." Kirane said softly. A dark, ominous looking, black whip appeared. The members of 'Kurama boot camp' stood no chance. In under a minute the boys were on the ground, bleeding and unconscious. Daisuke could be seen blinking on the side of the arena.

_"What just happened?"_ He muttered. Akira cleared her throat, catching the announcer's attention. _"Oh, right! The winners are The Vampires! By a landslide!"_

"My God..." Mo-mo muttered.

"Waaa... my wind guy." I whined. Mo-mo frowned at me, and I sweat-dropped.

"We may be up against more than expected..." Mo-mo sighed. I nodded.

"Mo-mo, Imma lay down. Go take a shower or something." I yawned. She shrugged at me and left the room. I lied down on the bench, sighing slightly, and I quickly fell asleep.

**********

I was awoken a few minutes later when the boys rushed into the room.

"What the hell was that?!" Yusuke yelled, clearly pissed off at the brutality of the vampires. I looked at the boys upside-down. "That's inhumane! You shouldn't treat any opponent that way!"

"I thought they were being serious at the beginning... But it turns out they were just playing around..." Kuwabara muttered. Kurama and Hiei said nothing. I stood up.

"Got any idea where the hospital ward is in here?" I said with an empty smile.

"Uhh... down the hall... where's Mo-mo?" Yusuke asked.

"Shower." I stated simply, as I left the room.

"Wait!" Kuwabara went to run after me, "We'll come too!" I glared over my shoulder with a cruel smile.

"No, you won't." Was all I said. The boys were all taken aback by my sudden coolness towards them. "Wait for Mo-mo, and talk some stuff over, or take notes for me on the next fight, or something." Yusuke nodded, but frowned. I waved over my shoulder and walked down the hallway.

"I see you're wearing the outfit I gave you." Kirane whispered over my shoulder as I stood outside the door of the hospital room. I turned around and slapped him hard.

"How dare you! What did to the guys was unnecessary." I growled.

"Well we weren't about to lose. As we said before: We're going to win you over," Kirane smirked slightly. "Whether you want us to or not."

"Tch." Was my cold reply. "It was still unnecessary, you could have killed them."

"Are they precious to you?" Kirane asked, his smirk growing.

"Not specifically, but they're precious to a good friend of mine. Now I suggest you leave." I growled. Kirane chuckled, grabbed my hand and kissed it, then disappeared. I remained unfazed by the gesture. I sighed deeply, and then put on a bright smile as I entered the room. "He-yo~" I smiled, the group looked up at me, surprised by my sudden appearance.

"What are you doing here?"s and "Where's the others?"s and "Hello."s broke out in union. I just smiled. A nurse rushed up to me and tried to push me out of the room.

"You can't be in here right now, these patients are in no condition, no, no condition at all, to see guests." She tried to push me, and smiled at her.

"What… are you doing?" I asked after a pause. She blinked at me.

"You have to leave now, hunny." She crooned as if to a child. This caused my smile to spread, to create a scary look.

"I don't believe that's necessary." I said, my voice sounded happy but there was an undertone of sadism to it. "I do not at all. What about you, I think you agree that it's not necessary for me to leave, right ma'am?" she looked at me and started to tremble. I formed a small blade out of ice and started to twirl it around my fingers.

"You, you, you… you can't, c-c-can't…" the nurse took another look at me, and I started to toss the blade up, catching it on its way down. "I have another patient I have to see!" she burst out as she ran out of the room, nearly running into the wall in the process. I chuckled and dissolved the ice away.

"Hello boys!" I said with a smile. "I have a few questions for ya! Care to answer?" I grinned. The boys looked at me suspiciously. "I promise I'll get a pass for Yusuke to visit~ after all, I am such great friends with the nurse."

"Why not, it wouldn't be hurtin' anybody." The wind master said.

"What d'ya wanna know beaute?" Chu asked.

**********

About an hour and a half later I was walking back to the room, going over the information that I had learned. When I entered our team's waiting room, I was received with sighs and sulks.

"Where have you been? You said you'd be quick!" Yusuke whined.

"Did I? I don't recall." I smiled. "Anyways, listen up! You too, Hiei!" I pointed at the small demon that glared out the window. The only sign I got that he was listening was a simple:

"Hn." I sighed.

"Just listen." I muttered. "A-ny-ways! I found out some stuff from both our injured buddies and the local announcer! With a little bit of… constructive interviewing, he was pleased to give me power levels on everybody!" I smiled.

"Is that legal?" Kuwabara whispered.

"Hmm.... Not sure." I grinned, and he jumped, clearly not expecting me to hear him. I pointed to the cat ears, "Apparently these are for more than show." I explained.

"I want to go see my friends." Yusuke argued. I flipped out a note written in fancy handwriting.

"They're not taking guests… However, I did manage to become good friends with one of the nurses over there, she gave me this to share… But it's mine and Mo-mo's if you don't sit and listen." A cat-like smirk appeared on my face. "Now pay attention class." I formed a long stick thing out of ice and made ten, floating, gingerbread-shaped figures, all the same size. Floating above each gingerbread man was a contestants name; Koray, Ayame, Kirane, Yuki, Kurama, Hiei, Yusuke, Mo-mo, Faiyuki, and Kuwabara.

"How did you-" I cut Yusuke off.

"Know that the last team lost?" I pointed at the feline ears again, "Lots of rumours around here. Fill me in later Mo-mo, okay?"

"Well, it's not like it wasn't obvious that Koray and Ayame would win their fight, but sure, I'll give you details later." She shrugged lazily.

"Though, if you thought that the fight with the vampires was one-sided, you certainly missed this one!" Yusuke said with a worried tone. "I mean, the fight was over within minutes! The other team didn't even have time to defend themselves!"

"I said I'll get the details later! Now LISTEN!" I screamed at the distracted group that sat in front of me. They all jumped at my out-burst, and then started to pay attention. "An-y-ways~ the size of each figure represents the contestant's power level. Koray and Ayame," I pointed at the two figures with the stick thing, and they grew to be around as tall as the younger, but larger Toguro brother. "Kirane and Yuki," their figures were about Kurama's height. "Hiei, Kurama, and Yusuke," I pointed at the figures and they grew to be around Yusuke's height. "Mo-mo and I," We were also shorter. About the height of Hiei. "And Kuwabara." He was just shorter than Mo-mo and I. "But taking in the levels of intelligence:" Yusuke's figure and Kuwabara's shrunk dramatically, Kurama grew about as big as Koray and Ayame's original, which had shrunk slightly. Hiei's didn't really change much, and Mo-mo and I grew about a foot in hight. "Any questions?" I asked.

"So we have next to no chance if it's just a full on brawl?" Yusuke asked.

"None in the slightest." I smiled. "Anything else."

"When'd you learn to shape your ice so, OUCH! URAMESHI WHAT THE HELL!?" Kuwabara yelled as he held his now swollen head.

"Stay focused you oaf." Yusuke scolded.

"Hey!" Kuwabara objected.

"For once, I have to agree with Yusuke. Now shut up." Hiei muttered coldly, while Kurama sweatdropped.

"Anyways~ that's the standings! Class dismissed!" I said with a huge grin, stopping the fight that was about to start. "Here Yusuke." I said more seriously, as I handed him the note from the nurse, "Play nice, they definitely had a number done on them." I said with a frown.

"What about you?" Kuwabara asked.

"Hmm… Imma take a nap. See ya!" I waved them out of the room, "Keep 'em in line Mo-mo!" I smiled. I locked the door behind them so I'd know when they were coming back, and I started to shake. The whole situation was outright terrifying! I mean, we're up against people we can't even beat! I tried to act cool around the others, but that still doesn't change the fact that we might all die at this tournament.

But despite all that, I refuse to give up. The only thing we can do now is keep on fighting.


	16. Chapter 16

***MARISE'S POV***

"Geez, what's her problem?" Yusuke muttered after we had been shoved out of our team's waiting room.

"Yeah, that was beyond rude!" Kuwabara whined.

"She's probably just feeling a bit overwhelmed. After all, we've entered into a fight that we cannot win. I imagine she doesn't want us to see her in a vulnerable state." Kurama explained.

No one said anything after that. Even I was beginning to feel down about the whole situation. After all, I know better than anyone how strong Koray is. He alone could easily take out our entire team, never mind having help from Ayame. And then there are the vampires; we certainly have no chance against immortal beings. Man, this is gonna be a tough battle. Though I'm sure we'll find some way out of it, either through the amazing luck that all main characters seem to possess or some kind of miracle.

"What's with the gloomy faces?" I jumped as a familiar voice spoke directly beside my ear.

"Y-Yuki!" I said with a flustered expression. The other four turned around to face the onyx haired vampire with angry expressions.

"What the hell do you want?!" Yusuke demanded, still angry about the beating he and Kirane gave our buddies.

"Why... I just came to say hello to Mo-mo." Yuki said as he smiled at me. God, he pissed me off!

"Just go away, alright? I'm not in the mood to deal with you." I said as calmly as possible.

"That's not nice...." Yuki replied with a frown.

"Look, you blood-sucking cretin, I suggest you get out of my sight now before you regret it!" Hiei yelled. He was clearly still upset about our encounter two months ago.

"Oh dear, my apologies. I keep forgetting that she's 'yours'." Yuki said to Hiei with a smirk.

Hiei's face went a little red as he growled at the vampire, but didn't say anything, for fear of it turning against him.

"Well, in any case, the next round of the tournament will be starting shortly. I suggest you all get ready. Oh, and Mo-mo, if I were you I'd bring the little gift you received earlier." Yuki said with a wink. And then he disappeared.

"Geez, Hiei, what was that all about?" Yusuke asked, intrigued by his friends short conversation with the vampire.

"It was nothing! Now shut up!" Hiei snapped at the Spirit Detective, who cringed with terror.

"Say.... What's this gift he was talking about?" Kuwabara asked.

"Oh... He just sent me some track pants and a tank top. Nothing special." I explained, a little embarrassed.

"It sounds to me like he's serious about winning you over." Kurama said with a playful smile.

"Shut up!" I said with a blush forming on my cheeks. Even though vampires are awesome, this guy just wasn't my type.

**********

_"Would the three final teams come forward please?" _Daisuke commanded through his mike. Our group, plus the two vampires and Koray and Ayame stepped onto the ring in the center of the dome. _"I will now explain the next round to you all. Most of you may find this a bit different from what you're used to, but this is the way it must be to ensure fairness for all teams. You will all be put into pairs, and sent into the Forest of Death on a survival mission. You will be there for three days, and naturally there will be many obstacles set out to stop you. While you are out there, it is a requirement that you bring back a certain artefact assigned to your pairing. You will all be marked individually on how you manage yourself, as well as how you get along with your partner. The two teams with the most success will be the two who face off in the finals! Any questions before I list off the pairings."_

"Yeah.... How will you know how we do out there? I mean, are you guys gonna be following us or something?" Yusuke asked.

_"That's not something you need concern yourself about. Are there any other questions? No? Then I shall tell you your pairings: Koray and Hiei. Yuki and Mo-mo. Kirane and Faiyuki. Ayame and Kuwabara. Yusuke and Kurama."_

Loud roar of "WHAT?!"s echoed through the large dome. Although, they mostly came from Yuki and I, who were appalled with our pairings.

"There is no way in HELL that I'm spending three days with that guy!!!!!" Yuki yelled out at Daisuke.

"What kind of sick joke is this???" I screamed out of fury. This was too much! It's bad enough that those vampires practically stalk us, and now we're supposed to spend three days alone in a forest with them? Dear God, NO!

_"Sorry, but the pairings are final. We can't allow any switch-ups."_ Daisuke said with a shrug. Yuki was about to jump up and attack him, but Kurama and Yusuke held her back.

"Now, now, Kitten. There's no need to be upset. Just relax, and I'll make sure you have a good time." Kirane said calmly to my distressed friend.

"Same to you, sweetie." Yuki said to me as he blew me a kiss and winked. (Fai)Yuki and I responded with the most horrifying glares known to man or demon.

"Jeez.... So I have to go with that crazy girl Ayame...." Kuwabara muttered to himself.

"I heard that, you stupid human!" Ayame exclaimed, which made Kuwabara jump.

"Now, now, Ayame. Just focus on the final goal and you'll be fine." Koray said with a smile. "Personally, I look forward to this round." Koray looked over at Hiei, who glared back.

"Heh heh. So it's you and me." Yusuke said to Kurama. "Piece o' cake. I'll handle the fighting and you handle the thinking!"

"Yusuke, you realize we're being marked _individually_...." Kurama said with a sweatdrop. But the Spirit Detective ignored him.

"C'mon Hiei! Let's go find out about this 'artefact' we're supposed to collect." Koray said with a large grin as he walked off, followed by Hiei, who looked like he was in pain.

"Well, that was an ironic pairing...." I muttered to my friend Yuki as we watched the two black-haired fire demons walk off.

"Yeah, I'll say. I wish we could have had better luck with our pairs!" She said with a frustrated tone. But then an arm managed to find its way around my friend's waist. Yuki jumped as Kirane was now right beside her.

"Shall we go, Kitten? No use wasting any time, now is there." The vampire said in his soft voice.

"Get your hands off me, or it'll be the last thing you ever do!" Yuki yelled at Kirane with pure rage.

Kirane chuckled and let go. Then the two walk off to where the pairs were being informed about their artefact. I saw Kuwabara and Ayame head in that direction as well.

"Well, shall we get going as well?" Yuki, the vampire said to me while offering his hand. I gave him a look, and then started walking. This was going to be an extremely long three days.

**********

The forest definitely deserved to called 'The Forest of Death'. Just walking in it gave me a creepy feeling. And it didn't help that a vampire who was obsessed with me was my only companion in this mission. Fuck My Life.

"You seem to be upset about something." Yuki said with a smile.

"Yeah, I am!" I snapped.

Then, within the blink of an eye, I found myself staring into the purple eyes that belonged to the vampire who was now dangerously close to my face. "You should be more careful...." Yuki said in a voice that was no more than a whisper. "After all, you no longer have your master here to protect you. And the scent of your blood makes me want to devour you all the more."

Yuki started to run his fingers through my hair, and my mind literally froze. I could barely comprehend what he was doing, let alone what I should do about it. After a while of us just staring into each other's eyes, Yuki finally moved away from my face and started walking.

"In any case, I suppose we should get working on the task at hand." Yuki said with a sigh. I didn't move. "Well? Come on, now. You want your team to have a slight chance at winning don't you?"

Reluctantly, I followed. Hopefully he knew what he was doing. All we were told to do was head straight North until we find a temple, and in it would be the artefact. Obviously, it won't be that easy. We are in a forest of _death_ after all. And that announcer Daisuke did say that there would be obstacles in our way.

Suddenly, we felt the ground shake, and then many vines and roots emerged from the ground and immediately went at us.

"Oh, shi-" I started before a vine grabbed my leg and lifted me off the ground. I went to bring forth my aura, but then the vine was cut and I fell into Yuki's arms.

"Holy Whip!" Yuki stated as he brought out his white whip, which sliced apart all the plants within seconds. I suppose I should have been grateful, but I was kinda distracted.

"Um.... You can put me down now...." With that, Yuki dropped me. I landed on the ground with a thud, then stood up.

"You shouldn't be so uptight. Enjoy yourself." Yuki said with a smile. "After all, the fun's just beginning."

"Oh great...." I replied sarcastically. And with that we kept walking. 


	17. Chapter 17

I twitched.

"This isn't fair! This is karma playing some sick ass joke on me! THE WORLD IS IN CONSPIRACY AGAINST ME!" I yelled out as I put my head in my hands. "Why, why, why, why? THERE IS A GOD AND HE HATES ME! EFF MY LIFE!!!!" Kirane and I were standing at the entrance to the forest, and all the other groups had already gone in.

"Come on, Kitten. We won't get anywhere like this." Kirane soothed.

"NO." I firmly stated, turning my back to him. I heard him chuckle.

"What?" I asked. He chuckled a little louder. "What?!" I repeated.

"Rule number One: Never turn your back on me." Kirane whispered in my ear, making me jump.

"W-what?!" He wrapped his arms around my waist, and then he picked me up; throwing me over his shoulder. "H-HEY! Put me down!" I yelled.

"Will you behave?" He murmured.

"HELL NO!" I replied.

"Then I won't let you go~" He sang. I kicked my legs in an attempt to get down.

"Let. Me. GO!" I yelled out.

"You know, I don't think I will." He grinned. I gave up, laying limp on his shoulder, and sighed.

**********

"Are we there yet?" I muttered. Again.

"If you ask that one more time, I'm going to have to punish you." Kirane smirked.

"Oh?" I questioned. Suddenly a huge thing that looked like a bear demon with two heads jumped out. "Uhh… Hi." I said blankly. Kirane dropped me and summoned his whip.

"Shadow whip." He muttered, clearly irritated by the demon's sudden appearance.

"**I will have that cat! My wife has been complaining about wanting a new house pet to help out!**" The bear growled. "**Now****,**** this can either go the easy way, or the hard way.**" The bear growled.

"No need to say another word. Now, which way is your home?" I went to walk towards the bear demon but Kirane held me back. "Lemmi go you damned Vamp!" I objected.

"I don't think I will." He smirked. A quick flip of his whip and the bear demon was dead. I sighed.

"There goes my escape…" I muttered. Kirane chuckled and picked me up again.

"I can walk, you know!" I growled.

"Sorry, but I won't let you down." He calmly stated. I twitched.

'Well,' I thought, 'it worked the first time I was kidnapped, so…'

"_This is the song that never ends; it just goes on and on my friends! Some people started singing it, not knowing what it was! And they'll continue singing it forever just because: this is the song that never ends…_" I sang out, struggling to get off of Kirane's shoulder.

"I'm happy that you'll sing for me. You have such a lovely voice." Kirane chuckled. I immediately stopped.

'Well that backfired…' I thought sadly.

"We'll get the artefact now, so we have a few days to… entertain ourselves. Who knows, you might come to like my charms." Kirane grinned. I just huffed impatiently.

"Can I please walk?" I asked, annoyed. And besides that, my back was becoming sore. Kirane sighed, but put me down. "Finally…" I muttered. We walked forward in a somewhat awkward silence. "So… where is this temple place anyways?" I asked.

"It's only a little farther." Kirane smiled. Suddenly Yusuke leaped out of the bushes, making me jump. He was carrying some old, VERY rusty sword.

"Where the hell did he get that piece of crap?" I muttered to myself. Kurama soon followed. "You're not Mo-mo, but I still missed you guys!" I laughed out. I tried to run towards them for a hug, but was picked up by Kirane. AGAIN. "Put. ME. **DOWN**!" I yelled out kicking my legs.

"I refuse. This is MY opportunity to have you, and that damn demon isn't going to screw it up." Kirane growled, extremely out of character. I blinked, somewhat surprised.

"What's up with you?" I muttered, "Somebody's p.m.…"

The bared his fangs possessively at my actual companions.

"It doesn't appear that she wants to be with you very much, does it?" Kurama asked the vampire coldly, a strategic smile playing on his lips.

"Yusuke! Kurama! Get this damn vamp away from me! He's acting a little more possessive than usual!" I struggled to get away from my partner/captor. He let me go, but pushed me behind him.

"You'll have to stay out of this one Kitten." Kirane growled. "This one is personal." He growled in an even lower tone.

"Damn it, he's serious! Yusuke, do something! If Kurama gets hurt I'm going to worry my ass off! It'll be better if you take him on!" I yelled out for assistance.

"Um, sorry but I can't help you with this one..." Yusuke objected. "Y'see, I don't do well with these kinds of situations. I'm sure they can settle this themselves." Yusuke proceeded to step away, and then started to play around with the rusty artefact.

Stupid, useless detective! Now I've gotta try to break this up by myself! "You guys! Don't fight! It's a waste of time!" I tried, but to no avail. "That is it! Listen to me! We are doing things MY WAY! HELLO!?" I yelled out, irritated that they were ignoring me. "If you won't give me your attention, I'll have to TAKE it." I muttered. I walked around Kirane, who was still in front of me, and stared into his glaring eyes, "I'll make you a deal. We go on ahead, you IGNORE THEM. Which means no fighting; no complaining; no killing; no NOTHING, and I'll give you a treat." Kirane's glare phased slightly and he looked at me curiously.

"What kind of treat?" He asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Aiyoku-san, what are you doing?" Kurama questioned. I twitched.

"I have a first name, use it!" I finally snapped at Kurama, who stared at me, slightly shocked by my outburst. I turned my back on him. "You'll like it, trust me. But you have to accept first." Kirane looked me straight in the eyes, and smirked, as if knowing I was about to kill off my dignity to avoid this fight.

"Only on the condition that if I don't like it, I can take something else." He smirked. I growled.

"Fine." I muttered, hasty to get it over with.

"Then I agree. Now what is this 'treat'?" Kirane smiled down at me. I frowned, and sighed.

"Yusuke, you tell anybody. I mean ANYBODY. And I will make SURE you will never be able to be a father!" I stated bluntly. Then I quickly stretched onto my tiptoes, and kissed Kirane. It was just a swift kiss, but enough for his ego to grow considerably. I could see the condescending glance he sent to Kurama, and then he smiled down at me.

"You were right. I liked it." Kirane muttered into my hair.

"Now you have to uphold your side of the bargain." I growled.

"Aiyoku-san…" Kurama muttered.

"Didn't she make it clear that she wanted to be called by her name? Tch. Looks like you don't even care for her enough to do that." Kirane smirked, "Well, I keep my promises. Good bye." And without a sparing glance we walked forwards into the forest.


	18. Chapter 18

***MO-MO'S POV***

I sighed with frustration. It had been two days since this round of the Ice Pearl Tournament began, meaning we only had another day to complete the task assigned to us. So far, my partner, the vampire Yuki and I had accomplished was.... Nothing. Absolutely nothing! We've been walking through this forest for days, and although there's an open path that leads straight to the temple we're looking for, that asshole Yuki insists we travel through the woods. On top of that, he continuously attacks anything he can find roaming around. Even though I'm all for bloodshed and killing things, we have a task to accomplish! We can't keep wasting time like this!

"Hey, Mo-mo. Did you see that?" Yuki said as he gave a boastful smile. I couldn't help but notice the remains of a few demons at his feet.

"What the hell is it this time?" I replied with a harsh edge to my voice.

"Why do you sound so annoyed? I thought you'd enjoy my little spectacle." The vampire demanded, while placing his face close to mine.

"Don't be such a moron! Finishing this round of the tournament takes priority over everything else! Now let's get going! We only have until the end of today to finish this!" I shouted, as I pushed him away from me.

"Hm, I suppose you're right." The vampire sighed. "Oh, well. I suppose I can be more patient and wait until later to have some fun with you."

"Looking forward to it." I said with heavy sarcasm.

Suddenly, Yuki took my hand and placed it at his lips. "There's no need to worry. I know the exact way to the temple, and I'll take you there, if that's what you want."

A chill ran down my spine as Yuki gently put his lips to my hand. I quickly forced my hand away from him, and backed up a few steps. Yuki smirked, and then began to walk away. Reluctantly, I followed, knowing I had no choice.

As we walked, Yuki tried to make conversation with me, while I gave him the silent treatment. He was very displeased, and persisted to try and get me to say something, but I refused. It was getting late into the afternoon, and I still saw no sign of a temple at all. At this point I was beyond frustrated, and wanted nothing more that to torture that damned vampire until his immortal life could no longer take it. However, I knew that he was way out of my league when it came to physical abilities, so the best I could do for now was mentally torture him with my silence. So far, it seemed to be working.

Suddenly, a large stone building seemed to manifest from the woods in front of us. It was covered with moss and vines, and the stone was cracked so bad it looked like it would collapse at any moment.

"We've arrived at the temple, Mo-mo." Yuki said with a grin. Those words greatly relieved me. I could now finish this stupid task, and be done with the stupid vampire. I think I even smiled. Then Yuki spoke again: "I'm glad to see you're feeling better. Now let's retrieve the artefact."

Although I didn't respond, I still followed the vampire into the temple. It didn't seem to be very large. We walked through a few rooms and connecting hallways, before we came across a larger room which contained a small altar at the far end. Upon the altar was a large, rusted sword, which Yuki approached and picked up.

"There, that wasn't so hard, was it?" The vampire smirked. I rolled my eyes. "Now, let's head back to the tournament dome. We can easily make it in time."

I was still giving him silent treatment, as punishment for making such a simple task become so stressful. The vampire openly displayed his displeasure through his facial expression, but let it go, knowing that we had to finish the mission. Again, he led the way and I followed.

We walked for about an hour in silence. Yuki seemed to have finally accepted the fact that I wasn't going to talk to him at all until this was over. From what I could gather, he wasn't too happy about it, but it's not like I cared. Suddenly, Yuki seemed to hear something approaching us, and put his guard up. Then I sensed a familiar aura not too far away, and sure enough he came out of the bushed with his partner.

"You two..." Yuki muttered with frustration, as he glared at Hiei and Koray.

"Hey, Hiei! How's it going?" I asked out loud, while in my mind, I begged him to save me from this torment. However, the fire demon didn't reply. He just stood there, glaring at me with his angry blood red eyes. "Um, Hiei?" I said with a confused look on my face. I don't recall doing anything to piss him off, but then again you never know when it comes to Hiei.

"Don't worry, Mo-mo, he's just in a bad mood right now." Koray said with a smile.

"YOU SHUT UP!" Hiei yelled at his look-alike. Then he turned on me. "You knew about this, didn't you?!"

"W-wha...." I stuttered, having absolutely no idea what he was talking about.

In a movement I could barely see, Hiei appeared in front of me, and grabbed the clothing around my neck, which chocked me, and pulled me down to his level. "Don't play innocent! You knew about him the whole time, didn't you?!" Hiei shouted, as he pointed at Koray.

"Oh..." I replied, realizing what he was talking about. That idiot Koray must have confessed that he's Hiei's father.

"I hope you have more to say to me than that!" Hiei yelled. But before either of could say anything further, Koray separated us.

"Hiei, you should be more polite to a young lady." He said with his usual smile. "After all, it's not her fault that I'm you father." I cringed at the irony of that statement.

"What was that? You're his father?" Yuki inferred with a chuckle, and an interested smirk. "I figured you two had to be related somehow, but father and son? That's just too much!" The vampire proceeded to laugh hysterically.

Hiei's face went red with embarrassment and anger, while Koray stared fiercely at the vampire. All I could think about was what Hiei would do to me if he knew that I was the one who created Koray's character before I was killed and revived as a Spirit Detective.

"Vermin like you shouldn't stick your nose into other people's business." Koray said to the vampire as he took a cigarette from his pocket and started to smoke.

"Oh? Are you picking a fight?" Yuki said as he stared challengingly at Hiei's father.

"Certainly not. After all, I believe we lose points for engaging in combat with other teams." Koray smiled. "All I'm saying is, don't act so high-and-mighty when you're about to lose the round."

"What was that?" The vampire frowned.

Koray smirked. "Let's go, Hiei." The fire demon picked up his son, and then disappeared. It was then I realized the sun was starting to set.

"Damn, we only have until dark to finish! That guy was just wasting our time!" The vampire exclaimed, as he picked me up, and started to run. We were going so fast, that I couldn't even identify what we were passing.

Suddenly, Yuki screeched to a stop, and then there was a large explosion in front of us. As the smoke cleared, many figures cloaked in black surrounded us. They each drew swords of different makes, and attacked me and Yuki. Even though my companion was a vampire, these guys seemed to be able to keep up with his speed. And with me in his arms, Yuki was unable to counterattack.

"Damn... Mo-mo, you'll have to watch from the side-lines." Yuki said with frustration as he threw me away from the fighting, and summoned his white whip. The vampire swung it ferociously at the men who attacked us, but they were skilled and managed to avoid his lethal attacks. However, they were still sustaining minimal damage, and after time, I was sure that Yuki would be able to beat them.

What bothered me was that the sun had almost completely set. If Yuki kept fighting them, we wouldn't be able to return to the tournament dome in time. Now that I thought about it, the timing of these guys was too perfect to be a coincidence. And why were they only attacking Yuki, and not me too? They must have been sent to delay us. But by who? It could have been Koray, considering what he said to Yuki before disappearing.

I then noticed that it was completely dark out. We failed the second round of the tournament.

**********

The others had been waiting for us, when we arrived back at the tournament dome. Neither Yuki, nor I could hide the embarrassment we felt about being the only pair that didn't make it back in time.

_"Finally, the last pair, Yuki and Mo-mo, have made it back here with their artefact!"_ Daisuke announced to a crowd that boo-ed us. _"From here, we shall evaluate how each pair did, and announce the results tomorrow morning." _And with that, the tournament crowd left the dome, and things became silent.

"Mo-mo! What the hell happened?!" My best friend Fai-yuki demanded, as she rushed over and hugged me tightly. The four boys followed.

"Well, it's kind of a long story..." I muttered as my brain tried to process all that happened over the past couple of days.

"Did that monster hurt you? Cause if he did, I'm gonna go pay him back!" Yusuke asked, while glaring at Yuki, who had rejoined his twin, Kirane.

"No.... I'm just really tired." I said, while rubbing my head, which had started to throb.

"You don't look like you've slept at all." Kurama stated.

"Well, thanks for that observation, Captain Obvious!" Fai-yuki stated rudely. "You really think she could have slept with that creep as her only companion? I know I didn't sleep at all, either!" With that statement, Kurama backed down. It seemed odd to me that Yuki would act that way to Kurama, but I was too tired to pay it any mind.

"Well, then lets go get some sleep!" Kuwabara exclaimed. "I tell ya, that Ayame girl really wiped me out! She kept going on about how she's gonna rescue Yukina, when everyone knows that I'm her one and only protector!"

"Sounds like a good idea!" Yusuke said as he stretched his arms and yawned. But before we could continue, we were distracted by a scene being made not too far away.

"You fool! You had plenty of time to accomplish the task!" Kirane shouted at his brother.

"It wasn't my fault!" Yuki replied in an attempt to defend himself.

"I know you! You probably wasted all you time showing off to that girl, and forgot all about the competition!" Kirane continued to yell.

"Just listen to me! Things were going according to schedule, until _he_ showed up." Yuki nodded his head in Koray's direction. The fire demon was attempting to chat with Ayame, and paid the vampires no mind. "He showed up and delayed us. Then after that, we were attacked by strange men dressed in black."

For a while Kirane simply stared at Koray, lost in thought. Then he noticed we were watching them and walked away. Yuki followed him.

"What was that all about?" Yusuke asked with wide eyes.

"That Koray guy's up to something!" Kuwabara stated.

"Yes, he certainly seems to have an agenda of his own." Kurama added. Hiei said nothing.

"Well, that's just how Koray is. Right Mo-mo?" Fai-yuki said to me.

"Yeah..." Was all I said in response. Something told me that things would be getting complicated from here on.


	19. Chapter 19

***AIYOKU FAIYUKI'S POV***

We all walked away from the stadium in a silence that could only be described as awkward. I was giving Kurama the cold shoulder, Kuwabara was ranting about his new love rival, Hiei was moodier than usual, and Mo-mo was brooding over being the last one back from the team. Yusuke was just brought down by the overall gloomy atmosphere that hung over our group.

When we got back to our room Mo-mo claimed the couch as hers and quickly fell asleep. Yusuke and Kuwabara sprawled out on the long couch across from Mo-mo's and I sat on my feet on the love seat. Hiei claimed his usual spot at the window, and Kurama, clearly feeling to awkward to sit next to me after what had happened earlier, but not having any other place to sit, leaned against the wall near Hiei. The atmosphere here was no different than the atmosphere on our walk. And Kuwabara was still ranting. I don't even know if he was repeating the same thing as before or if he was actually managing to come up with new arguments, and I really didn't care. It was getting really annoying.

"Kuwabara. I suggest you shut up." I said, with my mouth pulling up into a twitchy smile.

"I refuse! I mean who the hell does that bastard think she is? Yukina will be saved by me and only me!" The idiot shouted.

"Kuwabara I think you should just do what she says…" Yusuke muttered, feeling my sadistic aura spread across the room.

"No, no Yusuke. I think he's made it quite clear that he won't listen to me." My smile spread further.

"Exactly! I have a right to defend myself against that stupid woman!" That was the final straw for me. No one, not even a member of my own team, will insult a character that I actually put time and effort into making. "I bet I could−" Kuwabara was cut off as I used my water to pick up, and throw the love seat at Kuwabara. Yusuke shuddered as he turned to look at the twisted look plastered onto my face.

"Any more objections, Kazuma Kuwabara?" I said in an overly happy voice. I heard a muffled 'No' from under the love seat and nodded approvingly. Suddenly a knock was heard on the door. I went over to open it, and when I saw who it was I tried, unsuccessfully, to slam the door closed again. Kirane had shoved his foot into the opening and gently pushed the door open.

"Aww, Kitten, that was mean." He teased.

"I apologise, I didn't see you there." I said, once again using an overly cheery voice. Yuki was standing behind his brother, looking like he'd been whipped.

"You're forgiven," Kirane said with an honest smile, "We've come to invite your team to dinner. As a sort of… congratulations."

"Congratulations?" I asked.

"That's right, you haven't been told yet." Kirane smiled, "your group, along with the Koray/Ayame group have passed on to the final round."

"So you guys lost out, eh?" Yusuke grinned.

"You could say that." Kirane sighed as he shot Yuki a menacing glare.

"So will you come?" Yuki asked from behind his brother.

"Shut up. You don't have a right to speak." Kirane hissed cruelly back at him, and Yuki flinched.

Mo-mo groaned from the couch that she had been sleeping on. "Why are you freaks so freaking loud!?" She growled irritably.

"Because we're freaks?" I teased with a grin.

"Shut up." She muttered as she looked towards me at the door. "What the hell are they doing here?" she questioned with a scowl.

"Uhm, they want us to go out with them for dinner? Apparently we made it to the finals despite your little mess up." I smiled. Yes it was cold. But right now both Mo-mo and I were tired and irritated.

"If you wound up with that stupid vamp you'd have lost to!" She argued.

"You forget that I WAS teamed up with one of them." I growled back.

"You didn't have to deal with Hiei freaking out on you!" She yelled.

"Your little midget's like that by nature!" I replied, determined to have my way, if nothing else.

"What about YOU! How'd you get Kurama so annoyed with you!? Huh? I mean, of course it was bound to happen with your nature, but Kurama has the patience of a God! How pathetic!" Mo-mo yelled back at me.

"That was ENTIRELY his fault! And you know what? I'd rather have Hiei over Kurama!"

This caught the rest of the room's attention. Usually I was defending Kurama against Mo-mo's 'Hiei's better' but now I was starting one that's backwards!

"What _did_ you do to her?" Hiei asked Kurama curiously.

"Perhaps you could explain why Mo-mo's upset with you?" Kurama replied. Their little chat ended there, as Mo-mo and I continued our argument.

"No way! Hiei has NO patience, and he jumps to conclusions! He doesn't know how to deal with anything without killing somebody!" Mo-mo argued back. At this point it might even just have been to have an argument against me.

"Kurama OVER thinks everything! He only looks at the logic of things, and doesn't really care what anybody feels!"

"Well Hiei's the same!" Mo-mo shouted.

"At least he doesn't try to ACT otherwise!" It almost seemed like a bolt of lightning passed between Mo-mo and I, then I turned around and stomped out of the room, grabbing Kirane on the way. "I'm going to your stupid dinner." I growled at him, as he smirked at everybody in the room.

"You're all welcome to come as well. There'll be plenty of food." Kirane said, but he sent a look at Kurama that practically said, 'I win'.

"Food? I'll go. But it's not for you, stupid vampire, it's because I'm hungry and there's no food here." Mo-mo said as she walked tiredly to the door. Yusuke hopped up to join us as well, probably just as excited about the idea of food as Mo-mo was. Hiei and Kurama hesitated, but decided they might as well come. Much to my satisfaction, no one paid Kuwabara any mind, and simply left him there under the wreckage of the love seat.

**********

"Where are we going anyways?" I asked.

"Our team room," Yuki piped in, "We have plenty of space, so we decided we'd just take you there." His brother just sent him a glare.

"Hey! Why does _your_ team get a bigger room!?" Mo-mo objected.

"That would be…" Yuki smiled to Mo-mo cockily,

"A secret." Kirane finished off for his brother.

"I wanna knowwwww…" I whined.

"Curiosity killed the cat, Kitten." Kirane smiled down at me, and then gently yanked at one of my ears.

"Cats have nine lives, so it's okay to waste a few here and there." I muttered, and he chuckled. I frowned at him then turned my head away in a pout.

We all walked into the large room which was decorated quite well. The walls were lined with expensive-looking couches, and a huge chandelier hung from the ceiling above a long dining table, upon which was plenty of food.

"Awesome! Food!" Mo-mo and Yusuke cheered in union as they ran over to the table, took their seats and began gathering as much food as possible onto their plates. The rest of us joined them, though we took things at a slower pace. There was a large selection of Japanese and Western foods, and all of it seemed to be high-class. I went for the Japanese stuff, while Mo-mo ate anything that was within arms reach. Yusuke and Kurama also stuck with the Japanese cuisine, but Hiei didn't eat anything. He just sat there drinking tea.

"Neh… Kir-ra-neee~" I sang out adding a slight purr for effect.

He looked to me. "Yes Kitten?"

"I wanna know who's running this!" I grinned. "The whole time we've been at this tournament we haven't even _heard_ of who's running the show, let alone seen them!" I pouted.

"That was a random question." Mo-mo muttered with a mouth-full of food.

"Well, if we know who's running the show, we know who's got Yukina…" I smiled mischievously. "If we know that we can go get her and that way we know she's safe in the incident that we lose."

"That is true…" Yusuke muttered. "But how would we find her."

"Everybody has a weak spot." Kurama replied, Kirane smirked.

"I wonder if you could find it though." Yuki muttered.

"What, are you underestimating us?" I asked. "As soon as we have a name…" I frowned. Mo-mo chuckled.

"I can help out with torture if you want." She grinned. Seems her mood had gotten better now that she had food in her stomach.

"Of course!" I grinned back. "Wasn't that always the way we've worked? You can have the physical torture, but you gotta let me have a little fun too!" We both laughed. "So anyways, Mo-mo, sorry about earlier."

"Eh, we were tired and hungry. We were both in a bad mood." She replied with a shrug of her shoulders.

The vampires shot us a curious look, not really knowing what we were talking about, or whether or not we were joking.

"So, Kiraneeee," I said playfully. "_Do_ you know anything about who's running the show?"

"That would be..." Kirane started.

"A secret." Yuki finished.

"You jerks...." I whined, as I went back to my food.

Suddenly Kirane leaned in close to my ear, and whispered. "But for you I will give a hint... They are two powerful beings."

**********

"Ahhhhh, that food was delicious!" Yusuke exclaimed as we walked back to our own, small room.

"I wish we could eat that way every day!" Mo-mo stated as she rubbed her full stomach.

"Hey Mo-mo, you sure you're not going for the wrong guy?" I teased.

"Shut up!" She said as she nudged me with a slight blush on her face. I looked over at Hiei who glared, then turned away.

Up ahead, I noticed Koray and Ayame approaching us. We all stopped walking, and I noticed Hiei tense up more than usual. Mo-mo as well.

"There you all are!" Koray said when he and Ayame reached us. "We went to your room looking for you, but only found Kuwabara. Good thing we ran into you here." He chuckled.

"Gosh, for such a good fighter, you can act like such a moron!" I told him.

"Tell me about it..." Ayame said as she rolled her eyes.

"Well, whadya want?" Yusuke asked.

"We just want to congratulate you on making it to the finals with us." Koray smiled. "Oh, and Mo-mo, I wanted to apologise for interfering with you during the round. I don't like to do stuff like that, but you understand that it was necessary, right?"

"Uh... Yeah, no hard feelings." Mo-mo replied.

"Great! Then we'll be off. Gotta let you guys rest a bit before the finals. I'm looking forward to it. And Hiei," Koray looked at his son, who responded with a death glare. "I'll definitely be the one fighting you. Give me a good performance, okay?"

Hiei growled, and intensified his glare, if that was even possible at this point. Koray smiled and continued on with Ayame following close behind.

'Hm.... Two powerful beings...' I thought to myself.


	20. Chapter 20

***MO-MO'S POV***

The past day had been extremely stressful. We had to prepare to fight a team that we have no chance of winning against. I took the oportunity to sleep in, but after that not even food could bring up my spirits. I'm sure the rest of my team was feeling the same way, but we were all experts at hiding it. I figured some training would be in order, and habitually went to ask Hiei. Much to my disappointment, he was still giving me the cold shoulder and refused to have anything to do with me. I knew he'd get over it eventually, but right now I was in desperate need of a distraction. So I decided to join Kurama in some training excercises. Kurama politely accepted me, though I was sort of surprised that Faiyuki wasn't with him. When I questioned him about it, he said that she was still angry with him, and left it at that. The training was deathly, but it made me feel better.

"So, remind me again what their specialties are?" Yusuke asked me and Faiyuki as we all ate our dinner. Five of us sat at the table, while Hiei had claimed his seat on the windowcil.

"We've already covered this," Faiyuki answered. "Koray's a fire demon, and Ayame manipulates sand."

"Yeah, yeah, I know. But do they have any other abilties we should know about?" The Spirit Detective questioned. Faiyuki looked at me, and the others joined.

I swollowed the food I had been eating, and answered, "Well, Koray's a master of just about any martial art you can think of, he's especially lethal with a sword, or any weapon for that matter. He also knows stuff like black magic, but dislikes using it in battle. Besides that, he can easily read his opponent's movments, and has a tendancy to play around before actually getting serious."

"Sounds rough." Kuwabara muttered, with a scared expression.

"Sounds like fun." Yusuke stated with overwhelming confidence. "I think I'll enjoy kicking his ass!"

"Well, even if you _could_ beat him, have you forgotten that he wants to fight Hiei?" Faiyuki pointed out. Evereyone turned their attention to Hiei, who pretended to be ignoring us.

"Come to think of it, why _is_ that guy so obsessed with Hiei?" Yusuke questioned.

"Yeah, I mean, are you guys related or somethin'? Cause you sure look alike." Kuwabara wondered.

"It's NOTHING! And we're NOT related!" Hiei snapped. He gave me a glare that said 'You say, anything and you're dead' then pretended to sleep.

"So, Aiyoku-san, what can you tell us about Ayame?" Kurama asked, purpously changing the subject.

I saw Faiyuki twitch, but then she took a deep a breath and answered. "Nothing aside from her ability to control sand, and the fact that she's obsessed with protecting Yukina."

"I see..." Kurama replied.

"You know guys, I've been thinking that even if we lose the finals, we won't really be in such a bad position." Faiyuki said. "I mean, if you think about it, neither Koray nor Ayame would ever hurt Yukina, or make her unhappy. Heck, they'll probably just let her go if they win."

"I guess you've got a point," Kuwabara replied. "That Ayame girl, sure seems eager to rescue Yukina..."

"Yeah, but Fai-san, according to what that vampire freak told you, they could be the ones running the show." Yusuke explained.

"Yes, that could be true," Kurama speculated. "But the question is, why?"

We all remained silent, as we each tried to come up with an answer. Then Yusuke suddenly stood up. "It doesn't matter who's running things, or why! All we gotta do is win so that we can get Yukina back!"

Easier said, than done.

**********

_"Welcome, ladies and gentlemen, to the final round of the Ice Pearl Tournament!"_ Daisuke, the announcer, exclaimed as the crowd in the tournament dome roared with cheers. _"Now allow me to present the two remaining teams: On one side we have the Urameshi Team!"_ He motioned towards us, and the crowd errupted with shouts and cheers. _"On the other side we have the Koray and Ayame team!"_ Yet again the crowd became as loud as possible.

Koray and Ayame stood opposite us on the other side of the large circular ring. Ayame was wearing her usual white kimono that was decorated with flowers, and her long blonde hair had been tied up in a loose bun. Koray was dressed in all-black as usual, with a long sword at his waist. His face bore an excited smile, as he had been anticipating these fights for some time. Ayame's face remained expressionless as always.

_"The round will consist of a series of one-on-one fights. As with round one, you win once your opponent is unable to fight, or has been outside the ring for more than 10 seconds. The round will continue until one of the teams no longer has members able to fight."_ Daisuke explained. _"Now, would the first two fighters step forward, please."_

We looked over at Koray and Ayame wondering who would step up first. It was Ayame who casually stepped onto the stage.

"So, who wants to go first?" Yusuke asked.

"I'll go." I said. The others looked at me with surprised eyes. "Don't worry about me, I know I'm not going to be of much use in this round, so I'll at least give you guys the opportunity to observe how Ayame fights. Hopefully I'll last long enough to allow you guys to find a weak spot."

"Noooo! Mo-mo, if that's the case then I'll go!" Faiyuki wailed as she grabbed me.

"Hey." Hiei said, attracting everyone's attention. "She's made up her mind, so it's useless to try and stop her. As she said, we'll use this to our advantage."

Faiyuki hesitated, but let me go. I gave Hiei a thankful look, but he just turned away. Then I continued on to the ring where Ayame awaited me.

_"BEGIN!"_

Before I even had a chance to think, sand emerged from the gourd on Ayame's back and shot in my direction. I was sent flying quite a ways, but managed to land on my feet, and slid to a stop just before the edge of the ring. I concentrated my aura, and created a shield around myself. Sure enough, more sand appeared and tried to push me off the edge. Maintaining the shield around my body, I began to run in close to Ayame. Her sand wasn't strong enough to disable my aura, and right as I was close enough for a lethal blow, I focused yet again. Switching from defence to offence, I quickly gathered aura into my hands and shot it at Ayame. However, just before it was about to hit her, a wall of sand appeared and defended her. Before I had chance to regain a defensive stance, the sand had taken form and grabbed my neck, choking me.

Ayame stepped forward and looked me in the eye. "A nice effort, but I've seen better. Did you think I'd go easy on you just because you're weak and inexperienced? I came here to win. And I'll eliminate anyone who gets in my way."

I used the opportunity of inactivity to bring my foot up, kicking Ayame in the face. With her concentration broken for the moment, I was released. I materialized my scyth, fused it with my aura and brought it down upon Ayame. However, the wall of sand appeared again, and stopped my attack. It moved to attack me, and although I managed to block with my scyth, I was sent flying again. I landed with a hard thud, and before I could pick myself up, sand surrounded my right hand and crushed it. I let out a loud cry of pain. The sand then moved down to my legs, and crushed my left leg. A louder cry emereged from my mouth this time.

"Shit....! Ah... crap..." I muttered as I curled up on the floor of the ring in utter agony.

Ayame sighed. "Hardly a worthy opponent." And with that a large amount of sand shot at me, and I once again found myself flying.

I landed painfully outside of the ring, and then everything went black. 


	21. Chapter 21

***FAIYUKI AIYOKU'S POV***

Mo-mo was out cold. I knew that this fight would result in Mo-mo losing, but so quickly? I sighed slightly. "One minute and twenty three seconds…" I muttered.

"You were keeping time through the whole thing?!" Yusuke questioned with surprise.

"Well, thirty three seconds if you count the ten second countdown; but she was unconscious so…" I muttered to myself again. "Why did I have to make a God walker..?" I said with a sigh. The boys looked at me curiously.

"Well, I'd say it's quite clear that nobody can stand in my way!" Ayame shouted at our group with an emotionless face. "Yukina will be saved, and I will be the one to do it!"

"HEY!" Kuwabara yelled in sudden rage. He ran up to the ring and without thinking, jumped up and walked right up to Ayame. "I will be the one to save Yukina!"

The announcers voice rang out, _"Next match! Ayame VS Kuwabara!"_

"Whaaaaat?!" Kuwabara yelled out, "Hey! Who said I was gonna fight her?! I don't fight girls!"

_"START!"_

"Hmph. If you won't fight a girl, then you'll die by one." Ayame grinned sadistically. Suddenly, sand surrounded Kuwabara, lifted him up and tossed him outside the ring. Kuwabara landed with a hard thud not too far away from where I stood.

"Hey, that wasn't fair!" He shouted as he quickly got to his feet. "LIke I said, I don't usually fight girls, but in order to save Yukina, I'll make an exception! Spirit Sword!" Kuwabara exclaimed as he jumped back onto the ring, and charged at Ayame. He went to attack her, but before his sword could reach, a wall of sand appeared and blocked the attack. "What?!" He exclaimed. Then a bunch of sand slithered under Kuwabara, and latched onto his feet.

"Match end." I muttered as the sand crushed Kuwabara's feet, and then tossed him out of the ring. Kuwabara tried to stand up, but failed miserably.

Daisuke then began the countdown. _"Ten! Nine! Eight! Seven! Six! Five! Four! Three! Two! Match! Ayame wins! Two for the Ayame/Koray team!"_

"Dammit! You sneaky little witch!" Kuwabara yelled. "I'll get you next time!" He was then dragged off to the infermary to have his legs healed.

"Kurama, you go against her next." I said once all was quiet. Kurama gave me a curious look.

"Are you trying to get him killed?!" Yusuke objected.

"Would _you_ like to fight her?" Yusuke quickly shook his head no. "Not only that, I'm **saving** him. Koray has powerful fire attacks. Kurama uses plants. I don't care how many fire proof plants he has, if he goes against Koray he's screwed."

"Hmm…" Kurama thought over the situation.

"You have to play it really smart to beat Ayame. And quite frankly, Kurama's the best thinker out of all of us." Yusuke huffed, but knew it was true.

"Are you giving up?" Ayame asked. "I assumed Hiei would want to fight, even if its not with Koray." Hiei glared at Ayame, and then turned away.

"So it looks like it's my turn." Kurama smiled.

"Go quick; you have two minutes to get her out of the ring before she'll stop playing with you and gets serious. I don't care how, but before two minutes are done get her out and keep her out." Kurama looked at me, and then nodded with a smile.

"I'll do my best." Just before Kurama jumped up onto the stage I yelled out after him.

"Kurama, you know all you need to know about this opponent; she uses sand for long-range and close-combat. It's a defence you won't be able to get through. The sand is fast and it's her only form of attack. She uses no other weapons or tricks. Think now before you get up there, because you don't have time to observe and make decisions." He blinked at me and I smiled. "Now get going." He walked up to the stage and jumped up calmly.

"What's his chance?" This was the first thing Hiei had said out loud since dinner last night.

"To win? Ten to one against him, if not more. A tie though, is fifty-fifty, maybe forty-sixty in Ayame's favour." I sighed.

_"Start!" _The announcer shouted.

Immediately Kurama threw a handful of pebbles at Ayame, dodging off to the side as the sand blocked the pathetic attack and dashed after Kurama. That sequence repeated itself several times before I yelled out.

"Kurama! One minute and twenty two seconds left!"

"Kurama! What are you doing!? Throwing rocks won't do anything!" Yusuke yelled out. Sometimes I couldn't help but marvel at his stupidity. **Most** of the time I couldn't help but marvel at his stupidity. I punched him hard on top of the head, temporarily KOing him and shutting him up.

Kurama pulled out a rather large seed from his tunic and threw it directly at Ayame. The sand, of course, blocked it with a rather tightly packed shield and Kurama smirked as the seed harmlessly bounced off. Suddenly the entire barrier erupted in a green inferno of various plants. Ayame stepped back in shock, teetering off the edge of the stadium. I smirked; I knew he'd be able to come up with something.

Before Ayame could regain her balance Kurama ran up to her and kicked her off the edge of the stadium, but sand shot out from under the sleeves of her kimono and dragged Kurama along with her.

_"TEN!"_ the announcer began the countdown as Ayame and Kurama struggled to get untangled from the various vines and heavy sand.

_"NINE! EIGHT! SEVEN! SIX!" _They got untangled, and both bolted for the stage at the same time, various plants clashing with sand in between them.

_"FIVE! FOUR! THREE!"_ They both managed to get to the stage in one piece, only to find that the element of their opponent was barring them out.

_"TWO!" _They both tried to at least crawl up onto the side of the stage so that they could be counted as in.

_"TIME!" _The announcer shouted, cutting off their attempts. The sand fell from the arena and the plants quickly withered and died. _"The match is a tie! Point for both teams!"_

I sighed in relief. "Finally, someone came out of their fight without any serious injuries." Sure, Kurama had suffered several scrapes and a few cuts, but he would be fine.

"DAMMIT! HOW DARE YOU!" Everybody looked over to see Ayame shaking a swirly-eyed Kurama relentlessly. "THAT WAS MY CHANCE TO SAVE YUKINA! YOU FOOL! YOU JUST TOOK AWAY MY CHANCE TO SAVE HER!" I ducked as she threw his now unconscious body at our team, just barely missing me. A heavy grunt was heard behind me and I saw that, somehow, Hiei wasn't able to avoid his friend's body. Kurama, who was nearly twice Hiei's height, was lying unconscious on top of Hiei, who was struggling to get out from under the mass of limbs and torso.

Koray stepped up onto the arena stage, and I sighed. "My turn now." Then I too, stepped onto the stage, facing Koray. I quickly threw together an innocent face.

"Hi hi Mr. Koray! Go easy on me, okay? Just think of me as a warm up!" I gave him the peace sign while suppressing my demonic aura.

Koray looked me over, and then smiled. "This is a hardly fair fight; fire verses ice? I'll melt you before you can do anything, you weak little Kitty!" he chuckled.

_"Koray verses Faiyuki! Start!"_ Daisuke exclaimed.

'Okay,' I thought to myself, 'I've gotta make it look like I'm as weak as I was in his little test thing. I'll only use water at the last minute to douse the flames… I need to confuse him and make him think that I've only got ice…' Before I could finish the thought I stumbled backwards to avoid a lethal blow from Koray's sword.

"Neh, neh! Go easy on me!" I whimpered, holding my hand over my now bleeding stomach. I pulled together some ice under my shirt to stop the bleeding and keep pressure on the wound.

"So you turned out to be a healer then." Koray muttered, "A good healer is useful in a group battle, but on their own they're usually weak." I hissed slightly, my cat ears flat against my head and my tail swishing back and forth in an instinctual warning.

"I may not be strong, but don't underestimate me too much." I hissed under my breath, sending a feline glare.

"Ohhh, scary Kitty." Koray teased, "You forget that from the battle with the fox boy in our little test a few months ago I know your weak spot."

"You're not cute as Yoko; I wouldn't get distracted by a thug like you."

"Tch."

"How many attacks do you think it'll take to kill me?" I grinned sadistically.

"Depends on how many lives you've got left, Kitty." Koray smirked confidently.

"We'll just have to see then, wont we." Koray lunged at me again and I quickly looked to the right then jumped to the left. As expected, Koray attacked to the right.

'He relies on his eyes. He's no telepath. I just need to keep this up until I can set up my trap…' Koray growled at me and I purred back in amusement. I started lashing out randomly with ice, creating deep grooves in the floor of the stage that didn't quite reach the end, but instead rounded off to meet each other, creating a grid like design on the floor.

"You missed, Kitty." Koray grinned cockily. A pathetic mew left my lips and I put on a hopeless expression. "You can always give up, you know. I don't have to put you in the infirmary."

I shook my head no. My ears perked up and my tail began to swish playfully.

"Ya know, you guys are the reason Mo-mo got hurt. I mean, if you guys hadn't made us go through the test thing earlier our powers wouldn't have been awoken yet and we wouldn't be here. My powers were awoken saving Mo-mo, whose powers were awoken earlier saving me. So in the long run, it's your fault she got hurt." Koray looked at me curiously, as my playful look turned very sadistic and blood thirsty. "I'll make you bleed for every injury that has been caused to Mo-mo since all of this started." I hissed.

"You you think you can?" Koray smirked, clearly amused by my new found ego.

"Try to stop me." I lunged at him, then ducked into a ball to role behind him and dodge the sword that would have cut me clean in two. I landed on my hands and feet then quickly pushed off into a powerful spring lunging at Koray's back. He stepped back into the perfect center of the ring to dodge my razor sharp claws and I smirked.

"Check Mate." I brought my hands down onto the floor and focussed all my remaining power into the floor. From every crevasse that I had created with my earlier attack razor blade sharp walls of ice shot at Koray from all angles. He jumped up to avoid the attack, but the ice followed him and put thousands of deep, non-lethal, cuts into him.

"On the contrary." He smiled.

'What!?' I thought to myself in shock, 'The damage that attack would have caused should have KO'd him! Or at least hindered him because of… pain.'

"Shit." I hissed, as I stepped back, breathing heavily. I had nothing left energy wise, with only my threads left in terms of attack. But even then it took energy to manipulate the threads to their full potential…

"You forgot about one key detail." Koray smirked; appearing behind me and slashing a deep cut into my arm that I just managed to avoid losing. "I don't feel pain, remember?" I bit down on my lower lip, drawing blood there, to stop from screaming out in pain. Ice, against my will, rushed to stop the bleeding with pressure. "You're not even a healer, just using the ice to stop major bleeding, eh? Smart." Koray smirked sadistically, "Too bad it won't be enough."

"Shit shit shiiit!" I muttered to myself, as I tried to sidestep another attack but got cut across my forehead, blood now pouring into my right eye. I closed it to keep the blood from stinging it, but that just gave me a blind spot. I gasped out in shock and pain, and blood started to drip out of my mouth, as Koray's sword pierced through my back, through my stomach, and through the ice that had been stopping the bleeding from my previous injury. Koray put his foot on my back and forcefully pushed me off his sword and out of the ring.

Just before I blacked out, I heard him say: "Not bad, for a weak little Kitty."


	22. Chapter 22

***MO-MO'S POV***

"Un..." I groaned as I slowly entered the world of the conscious. My head was spinning, and as I made a slight movement, pain shot through my right arm and left leg. "Ahhhh!" I cried out, as I tried to find a position that didn't cause me pain.

"So you're awake." I heard Kuwabara say from my right. I turned my head to look at him, and saw that he was lying in what looked like a hospital bed, with both his legs in casts.

"Where... are we? And what happened to _you_?" I asked.

"The same thing that happened to you." He replied grimly. "I ended up fighting that Ayame girl, and she crushed my legs. Oh yeah, we're in the hospital, by the way."

"Oh..." I said simply. The events of my fight were now rushing back into my mind, and after what happened, it was no surprise that I was taken to the hospital. "Wait, what exactly happened after I was knocked out? Have one of the other guys beaten Ayame yet?" I demanded.

"W-well, I fought after you did, and lost... Then over the PA I heard that Kurama fought her next, and that ended in a draw." Kuwabara explained. "But that's not all. Koray also had a fight..."

"Who'd he fight?" I asked eagerly, wanting to know who got hurt.

"...Fai-san." Kuwabara replied hesitantly. He turned to look across the room, and I followed his gaze. In another bed, laid Faiyuki, unconscious and covered with bloody bandages.

"YUKI!" I shouted as, despite the pain, I stood up and rushed over to her side. Many nurses protested, but I continued anyway. Her wounds looked serious, but she wasn't dead. Though, Koray probably wasn't even serious when he fought her. I should know. Wait... Why was Faiyuki the one to fight someone as strong as Koray? What the hell were the other guys doing?!

"Hey, Mo-mo! Where're you going?! You gotta wait for your wounds..." Kuwabara started, but I didn't allow him to finish. I stormed out of the hospital as fast as my injured leg would carry me, and headed to the battle arena. I got there momentarily, and as the remaining three guys saw me coming, their faces showed relief. However, once they saw the expression on my face, they got a little spooked.

"Why the fuck is Faiyuki in the hospital?!" I screamed at them. Yusuke, Hiei and Kurama all jumped at my newfound rage, and uncharacteristic cursing.

"Uh... Mo-mo, look here..." Yusuke started nervously.

"Three of you still able to fight, and FAIYUKI was the one who had take on Koray??! You DUMBASSES!"

"Tch. _She_ was the one who wanted to fight. Go yell at her when she wakes up." Hiei scoffed, in a feeble attempt to redirect my anger.

"You don't have the RIGHT to tell me what to do, you moronic midget! You've been completely ignoring me ever since the second round, over the _stupidest_ reason!" I shouted at the fire demon.

I saw Hiei's anger flare as he was about to make a counter-argument, but Kurama separated us. "This is not the time to be fighting amongst ourselves." He said calmly. "Mo-mo, I understand your anger, but it was Aiyoku-san's choice to fight. For now, either Yusuke or Hiei will fight Koray and take care of him."

I don't know how, but Kurama's words managed to calm me down, at least enough to stop yelling at them. "Fine..." I replied.

_"Urameshi Team, you need to select the next fighter."_ Daisuke said impatiently.

"Hiei!" Koray called out. "It's time for you to fight me. Surely you're getting bored just watching the others loose. But then again, if you don't think you have the strength to beat me, I completely understand."

Hiei glared at his father. "You know, that high-and-mighty act of yours is pissing me off more than usual. I think I will go next, if only to put you in your place."

Koray smiled widely. "That's exactly what I was hoping to hear."

_"Next fight: Hiei vs. Koray!"_ Daisuke announced, as Hiei stepped up onto the ring and faced the man who resembled him. _"BEGIN!"_

In that moment, both fighters drew their swords and disappeared. From the sidelines we could hear loud clashes, and occasionally saw sparks where the two swords connected. After a few minutes, Hiei and Koray came to a stop and stared at each other, both thinking about their next move. Koray lunged forward, and attacked Hiei, who jumped to the left to dodge. In an instant, Koray's sword started to glow red, and he swung it in Hiei's direction, releasing a linear attack of aura. Hiei disappeared midair, just before the attack hit him, and reappeared behind Koray. Hiei's left fist was surrounded with red flames, and he went to punch Koray, however his father quickly turned around and caught Hiei's fist with his own hand.

"What?!" Hiei yelled as Koray's hand absorbed Hiei's flames. Koray then crushed Hiei's fist in his hand. Hiei let out a cry of pain, and once Koray released it, he gripped it tightly.

"You should know better than to use normal flames on me." Koray said as a sadistic smile. "After all, I _am_ a pure-bred fire demon. Unlike yourself."

"Whose fault is that?!" Hiei shouted back.

"Hm. I guess that is my bad." Koray replied, the sadistic smile never leaving his face for a second. "But still, I hope you have more to show me than that. After all, the rumours of your accomplishments are most impressive."

Hiei smirked. "Don't worry. I'm not so easily beaten." Hiei yet again disappeared. Koray attacked behind him with his sword, but all I saw of Hiei was a phantom. Hiei then reappeared above Koray, and brought down a sword made of greenish-blue flames. Rather than block, Koray dodged the assault, but Hiei followed him, attacking relentlessly.

"I see..." Kurama said after deep thought. "Even though Koray is a fire demon, the darkness flame will still harm him. If Hiei can match Koray's speed, he may be able to win with the Sword of the Darkness Flame."

"I don't think so..." I muttered.

"What do you mean?" Kurama questioned.

"Well, speaking of the darkness flame... Koray can use that as well." I replied. Kurama and Yusuke's eyes widened with surprise. "And even if Koray doesn't use it, there's no way Hiei can match him in speed. Right now, Koray's probably slowed himself down to match Hiei."

"No way..." Yusuke muttered.

We were than distracted, as Hiei yelled out in pain. From what we saw, Koray had appeared behind Hiei, and slashed his back. Hiei fell to the ground, the deep wound bleeding badly, and trembled with pain. "Damn... you..." Hiei muttered.

Koray bent down and looked Hiei in the eyes. "I thought you said you wouldn't be beaten so easily?"

Hiei then smirked, and Koray's eyes widened as he tried to jump away. Hiei lunged himself forward with all his strength, and using the Sword of the Darkness Flame, he slashed Koray up his torso and onto his face. Hiei smirked confidently, but when he saw the amused expression on Koray's face, he realized his error. "Damn! He doesn't feel-" Hiei was cut off as Koray landed a hard punch on Hiei's cheek that sent his son flying. Hiei skidded painfully across the ring floor, and stopped just before the edge of the ring.

"That was a well-played trick." Koray complimented as Hiei struggled to stand up. "But I hope you have enough strength left for your ace move."

"I've got more than enough!" Hiei boasted as he held out his right arm, and began removing the bandages that always enclose it. Koray smirked eagerly as he recognized what Hiei was doing.

"The Dragon of the Darkness Flame!" Yusuke shouted with excitement. "This is just the thing to send that bastard to his grave!"

"Yes." Kurama agreed. I decided it would be best to keep my mouth shut about how Koray would overcome Hiei's strategy this time. It's not like me talking would change anything.

Hiei successfully removed the bandages, and now his arm started to radiate with purple and black flames. This aura spread to encompass Hiei's entire body, and then began to cover the ring. An electric feeling of terror spread throughout the tournament dome, as the crowd quieted down, and began to simply observe what would happen next.

"You're so quiet. Have you realized your defeat?" Hiei said to Koray, who had been closely observing him.

"Ha... I'm just trying to retain my excitement." Koray replied with a wide, sadistic smile. "After all, it's been a while since I fought against someone who could use this kind of attack."

"Enough of your bullshit! This ends now! _DRAGON OF THE DARKNESS FLAME!_" Hiei shouted as he thrust his right arm forward, and the energy that had been radiating from it turned into a large Chinese-style dragon made out of black and purple flames. As the dragon took form, the tournament dome started to shake and crumble under the extreme pressure. I could feel unbearable heat coming from the attack, that felt like it would melt me within a second and the energy that the dragon was composed of made my head hurt. Through the chaos, I saw Koray's face still bearing that overly-confident smile which infuriated all opponents. I could tell what he was going to do next, and I hoped that it wouldn't kill Hiei.

Hiei's dragon was now in its completed form, and it quickly moved to attack Koray. It flew into the highest area of the tournament dome, killing random spectators along the way, and then hurled at Koray from above. About 10 feet before the dragon would reach Koray, a powerful aura surrounded the fire demon, stopping Hiei's Dragon of the Darkness Flame. Hiei's eyes widened with shock, as Koray's new aura pushed Hiei's dragon away, and clear out of the tournament dome, taking the entire roof with it. Koray's aura turned into purple and black flames just like Hiei's dragon, and expanded upward, through the broken roof. Two smaller masses of aura extended from the main body, and turned into dragon wings. Two arms and legs appeared next, and following them, the head. The flames took form around this dragon to form horns and spikes down the dragon's spine, and on its head.

Hiei stared, speechless. His dragon couldn't compare with what Koray had brought forth. _This_ dragon didn't even fit into what was left of the tournament dome.

"Is that.... _Really_ a Dragon of the Darkness Flame?" Yusuke questioned with a shocked expression.

"It is..." Was all I could manage to say. Seeing Koray's Dragon of the Darkness Flame in reality was even more impressive than how I'd ever imagined it.

"Interesting how Koray's resembles a western-style dragon.... The difference in power is obvious by appearances alone." Kurama pointed out.

I looked over at Hiei. The expression on his face could only be described as helplessly pathetic. I couldn't take my eyes off him. It was one of those rare moments were Hiei realized the hard way that he didn't stand a one-in-a-million chance of winning. Despair had overcome him, and he'd lost his will to fight.

Koray, on the other hand, was staring at Hiei with complete superiority. He'd won, and he knew it. In fact, he'd known from the start that he would win. Koray closed his eyes, and his dragon began to move. That action alone caused what was left of the tournament dome to shake and nearly crumble. From its mouth, an incredibly large amount of power gathered, and was shot at Hiei's dragon, which had been circling in the sky. The one attack completely destroyed Hiei's dragon. As it vanished, Koray absorbed his own dragon back into his own body.

The match was over. Sunlight filled the destroyed tournament dome as the heavy aura of the two dragons disappeared, and granted all observers some peace of mind and fresh air. However, Hiei and Koray were still staring at each other.

"I... don't... How did you..." Hiei started, but couldn't seem to keep his mind focused.

Koray walked up to him, and smiled. "You did well. I'm impressed." Hiei stared weakly. "Though, unfortunately, I came here to win the tournament. Do yourself a favour and just let go." Hiei said nothing in response, and then slowly fell to the ground, unconscious.

"Hiei!" Yusuke and I shouted in unison. We both moved to go to him, but Koray had already picked him up, and appeared in front of us.

Koray smiled and said, "He needs to be hospitalized."

"I'll take him there." Kurama said, taking Hiei from Koray. He then turned to the Spirit Detecive. "Yusuke, the rest is up to you." Yusuke nodded, and then Kurama walked off to the hospital.

_"W-well, I think that last match was definitely won by Koray...!"_ Daisuke announced, now that he had crawled out of his hiding place. _"We now move to the climax of the tournament, where the final two available fighters face off! Yusuke vs. Koray!!! The winner of this round will win the tournament for his whole team!"_

"Shall we get going?" Yusuke said to Koray. The fire demon nodded.

"Hey, Yusuke..." I said before he walked off. "Be careful."

"Sure thing." Yusuke replied with a grin and thumbs-up. He and Koray then walked up onto the ring, and prepared to fight.

_"BEGIN!"_

The two guys stood there staring at each other, waiting for someone to make a move. Koray pulled out a cigarette, lit it with a flame that appeared on his thumb, and started smoking.

"You sure you're up to this, buddy?" Yusuke asked confidently.

"Why wouldn't I be?" Koray replied, as he breathed out smoke.

Yusuke smirked. "You just used the Dragon of the Darkness Flame, right? I know for a fact that it takes up the user's entire aura just to summon it. To be honest, I'm surprised you're not out cold like Hiei, considering how powerful yours was."

Koray took another puff. "You can only say that because you don't fully understand the technique itself."

"Oh? Then enlighten me." Yusuke demanded.

Koray laughed. "I doubt you would understand... But either way, right now we're enemies. So, unfortunately, it would be unwise of me to reveal the secrets of my most powerful technique. For now, you can think what you like, kid, but I assure you that I have more than enough energy left to defeat you. So now let's fight."

"Sounds good to me." Yusuke grinned, as he got into a fighting position.

Suddenly, flames surrounded Koray, and shot out to cover the entire ring. Daisuke, jumped off to avoid getting burnt, while Yusuke instinctively protected his face with his arms. "As you can see..." Koray started. "I'm hardly exhausted." He then quickly gathered fire into his hand and threw it at Yusuke. The Spirit Detective jumped to the side, dodging the explosion that resulted from Koray's attack, but then the fire demon appeared in front of Yusuke and punched him hard in the face with a flaming fist.

Yusuke hit the floor hard, and skidded along, leaving a trail behind him. "Damn... That hurt..." He muttered as he put his hand to his burnt and crushed cheek. But before he could stand up, a ball of fire hit him, and blew up.

Koray stood on the opposite end of the ring, waiting for Yusuke to recover from his attacks. However, his eyes narrowed, and he quickly jumped to the side to avoid a Spirit Gun that flew out of the smoke of the explosion.

"Shit!" Yusuke exclaimed in frustration.

"You're not gonna get him like that!" I yelled at Yusuke from the sidelines. "He can sense your aura when you power up! You have to get him while he's distracted!"

"I know!" The Spirit Detective replied impatiently. "This time I make the first move!" He shouted as he charged at Koray, and started punching relentlessly. The faster things got, the less I could see. Though it was pretty clear that Yusuke was on the offense, while Koray dodged. Then Koray suddenly jumped into the air, did a flip and shot flames at Yusuke before landing again. The Spirit Detective dodged, but then found himself faced with Koray once again. This time Yusuke blocked the fire demon's punch, burning his arm in the process. But then, faster than even Yusuke's eyes could follow, Koray flipped forward, and on his way around brought his foot down onto Yusuke's head from above. Yusuke let out a cry of pain, and then Koray kicked him again, this time sending him clear out of the ring.

"Yusuke..." I muttered as Daisuke started the count.

However, Yusuke jumped up, and quickly got back into the ring. "I'm not beaten yet!" He boasted.

"My, you can certainly endure a lot." Koray said with a sadistic grin. "But I think it's about time we end this." Once again flames filled he ring, and this time they moved to consume Yusuke.

"Don't worry, I completely agree." Yusuke said with a smirk. Suddenly, a large amount of blue aura surrounded his body. It spread across the entire arena, extinguishing Koray's flames. Koray stared at Yusuke with a surprised expression, as he waited for the Spirit Detective to make his move. A bright light enveloped Yusuke, and blinded everyone else. After a few seconds it completely disappeared. However, it was obvious what had been accomplished; all over Yusuke's body were strange markings. He had developed slight fangs, and his aura was now red and demonic.

In a movement I couldn't see, Yusuke punched at Koray. The fire demon dodged the assault, which left a crater in the ring floor, though the attack still managed to scratch his face. Koray put his hand to his cheek, and then looked at the blood that rubbed off onto it.

"Your power is impressive." Koray said with a smirk.

"I'm not through yet!" Yusuke shouted as he surrounded his right fist with a red demonic aura and thrust it in Koray's direction. Hundreds of small balls of aura shot out at the fire demon; however Koray easily dodged with the agility of an acrobat. Suddenly, flames surrounded the Spirit Detective, but Yusuke jumped into the air, and brought a punch down onto Koray. The fire demon dodged, causing Yusuke to once again leave a large crater in the floor of the ring.

"Hm... This doesn't seem to be working for either of us." Koray said with a sadistic grin.

"What's this? Are you gonna give up?" Yusuke challenged.

"Hardly. I was just thinking about taking a different approach." Koray said as he took the cigarette he had been smoking throughout the match out of his mouth and threw it away.

"Yeah? Like what?" The Spirit Detective demanded.

"Nothing much..." Koray said with a smirk. For a moment, Yusuke noticed him look at the ground, and following his gaze, Yusuke realized that Koray's cigarette had landed between his feet. Before he could react, the cigarette burst into flames, completely consuming Yusuke and then exploded. The Spirit Detective was shot a good 50 feet into the air, and landed flat on his face. Yusuke didn't move at first, so Daisuke started the count. After about 4 counts, Yusuke got back onto his feet with much difficulty. His shirt had been incinerated, and he was burnt all over his body.

"Damn..." Yusuke muttered.

"Looks like you're at your limit." Koray smirked.

"Shut up! It's not over yet!" Yusuke shouted.

But then suddenly, on the other side of the tournament dome, a large mass of black magic that looked like a portal appeared. Many men dressed fully in black with their faces covered by masks walked out of it.

"Who are these guys?" Yusuke asked with a confused expression.

Koray's face twisted into a mix of frustration and anger. "Damn... Why'd the Black Knights have to show up _now_?!"

"The Black Knights?!" I shouted. "You've gotta be kidding me! They can't be here! They exist in my sick, twisted mind! SHIT! SHIT! SHIT!"

God... Now we'll REALLY get ourselves killed.


	23. Chapter 23

***AIYOKU FAIYUKI'S POV***

I tried not to groan out in pain as my body screamed in protest. I closed my eyes tight to keep out the bright lights that shone around me.

"He's in critical condition!" I heard a lady yell out.

'Who?' I wondered. 'And where am I?'

"Doctor, how is Aiyoku-san doing?" I heard Kurama ask.

'Doctor?' I wondered. 'Wait… Doctor means medics, medics mean hospital, and critical condition means hospital… OH MY GOD I'M IN A HOSPITAL!'

"She's stabilized now, but she should be out for a while…" The Doctor said solemnly. I opened both eyes, and squinted through the bright lights. It smelled horrible. I HATE the smell of hospitals.

My eyes ran over the room slowly. Hiei and Kuwabara were both lying in beds across the room from me, unconscious. 'I wonder where Mo-mo is… She was hurt pretty bad… she should be in bed.' I twitched slightly. 'WHY AM I SO CALM WHEN I'M IN A DAMNED HOSPITAL!?' I yelled at myself mentally. I jumped up, despite the pain, and shot water at the doctor standing next to Kurama.

"Where. Is. Mo-mo. I will ask nice ONCE then I'll try somebody else." I started to put pressure on the doctor with the water who started choking because he couldn't expand his chest.

"Aiyoku-san, let go of him." Kurama said with a warning tone. I shot Kurama a glare, but dropped the doctor. Ignoring the searing pain that ripped through me I threw off the blankets and kicked my legs over the side of the bed. I flinched as my sore feet touched the cold tile floors in the hospital.

"W-wait!" A nurse tried to stop me. "You can't get up yet, your wounds...!" I sent her a glare that froze her in her spot.

"Mistake number one: Putting Mo-mo somewhere that I can't see her when she's injured." I growled.

"But wait, that wasn't-" A doctor started to say.

"Mistake number two..." I cut him off. "You put ME in a hospital. Try it again and I will make you wish you were dead, then leave Mo-mo to kill you." I stood up, and then stumbled forward, my legs not wanting to hold my weight. I growled in agitation, and then just used water to carry me out of the room.

"Aiyoku-san!" I heard Kurama yell out in objection.

"I have a proper name." I growled under my breath, continuing forward.

_"Would everybody please evacuate the building!" _I head Daisuke yell in a panicked voice over the PA. _"Please evacuate the building! Mysterious men in black outfits are attacking!"_

"Mysterious… Men?" I muttered. "In black? Sounds like the Black Knights, but that's impossible. They're just Mo-mo's side characters in a fanfic…" I finally made it to the arena, which had been reduced to rubble at this point.

"Mo-mo! Yusuke?!" I shouted out as I searched for my friends. Koray was fighting off about five of these 'mysterious men' that had been mentioned over the PA, while Yusuke had his hands full with just one of them. My eyes scanned the room and I saw Mo-mo struggling to hold off one of the black clothed men herself. I fell to the ground as I shot my hand out, and the water that had been holding me up rushed at the man, literally going through him, leaving a gaping hole in his chest.

"Faiyuki!" Mo-mo said as she turned around, her relieved smile soon turning to a worried frown.

"Why the hell did ya leave me in a hospital?" I complained, as I pulled on two bracelet's that were thankfully still in my pocket.

"Because, whether you wanted to be there or not, you had to get your wounds treated." Mo-mo pointed out. "Plus, you were the one that passed out."

"Ugh, I hate hospitals…" I muttered. "Bad childhood with 'em."

"What are those things anyways?" Mo-mo gestured at the bracelets with her injured hand, as she lazily swung her scythe at a weaker knight with the other.

"Pay more attention!" I yelled out as I flicked out my hands in her direction. Long shining threads spun out of the silver bracelets towards the man that tried to jump her from above, while one that tried to attack me from behind landed head first into a solid shield of ice.

"Oh, so that's where the threads came from before." Mo-mo grinned. "I thought you went Spider-man on me!" We both burst out laughing, and wound up 'ow-ow-ow'-ing as our injuries started to become a pain, literally.

"Koray!" Ayame shouted out as she crushed three of the men with her sand. "Who the hell are these people?! They seem to know you!"

"They're the Black Knights! I have some ties to them, though I didn't think they'd be able to follow me here!" Koray yelled out in agitation.

"Great job, Mo-mo!" I smiled. "The only thing that can even pose as an annoyance to Koray is now in this world, and it's all because you thought them up!"

"Well, I'm so-rry!" She muttered in frustration as she exploded two men with her aura.

"It's okay." I sighed. "Hey if we die, won't all these characters die too?" I asked curiously. "I mean, they're essentially components of our thoughts, and when we die our thoughts would die too, therefore they'd all die." Mo-mo just gave me a bewildered look.

"Only _you_ would say something as random as that in the middle of a fight." She sighed.

"Thank you!" I grinned back.

"Sharivar..." We heard Koray growl. All the enemies Koray had been facing before were on the ground bleeding or dead. Or both.

"It's been too long, old partner." A white haired man in his mid twenties said, his voice turning malicious. "I've been ordered to come take you back to the organization, so here I am." His blue eyes sparked with powerful, yet unidentifiable emotions. The light caught four silver piercings on his lips, making him look scarier. Although he was clearly human, he was also clearly very strong. Koray's eyes narrowed into a glare.

"Who's that?" I wondered. "The name is definitely familiar…"

"Mhmm… I think he's another OC…" Mo-mo said wonderingly.

"From Amber Moon?" I asked. She shrugged in return. I decided the hell with it; I'll throw on my mp3 player, because everybody was focusing on Koray. They wouldn't attack me because they're after Koray.

Just after I hit the play button, not even twenty seconds into Maru Kaite Chikyuu, I was attacked. I stepped back to avoid the blast of fire that was aimed at my head, and instead of melting me, it melted right through the cord to my headphones.

I twitched, and Mo-mo just kind of stared at me.

"Damn, you're screwed buddy." She bluntly said to the Knight that cut me off from my music. Suddenly the air got very dry as all the water with in a hundred feet of me started to pull together around me, swirling at insane speeds.

"You… You took away my music." I growled, my bangs shadowing over my eyes as I turned to face the fool. "YOU ARE **SO **DEAD!" I screamed out, lashing out with all the water that had gathered around me. The majority of the Knights were killed spontaneously, some from the lash of water that I sent out, others from having every molecule of water ripped from their body simultaneously. I collapsed, still twitching in anger, and then I suddenly broke down in tears. "My MP3 player!" I wailed. "NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"

Suddenly Kurama, a very tired looking Hiei, and a bandaged up Kuwabara ran out.

"Why are you guys still here?!" Kuwabara yelled out.

"Because we want to be." Mo-mo said in union with me who said, "Because it's fun!"

Kurama walked right up to me and picked me up, despite by clear protest.

"Come on Yuki, it's clear that you can't stand on your own, and you went full out on that last blow." Mo-mo looked around at the carnage, spotting one body that was hollowed right out, "Literally."

I sighed in defeat. "Whatever. How's Koray doing?" I asked.

"He's fighting…" Yusuke said as he jogged up to us.

"With that Sushi guy?" I asked thoughtfully.

"Don't you mean Sharivar?" Mo-mo asked.

"Whatever!" I whined. "I've always been bad with names."

"You did pretty well with the fox's names…" Hiei muttered.

"That's because I actually cared about what Kurama!" I said with a smile.

"Note the past tense." Mo-mo sighed.

"What _did_ you do to her?" Hiei once again asked his red-haired friend, who sweat-dropped.

"Anyways, let's get closer to Koray's fight! I wanna see!" I said pointing up to the top if the stadium.

"I don't think that would be wise." Kurama objected.

"Then put me down and stay behind." I said flatly. "I have free will to make my own decisions." I struggled, and managed to get out of his arms by curling into a ball and landing on my back. "Owww…" I muttered as I slowly stood up.

"Aiyoku-san..." Kurama sighed, as I shrugged his hand off my shoulder.

"I smell a lot of blood." I murmured, looking at the corpses around me. "And I worry at how little this," I gestured at the bodies. "bothers us." I smiled at Mo-mo.

"Eh, kill or be killed." Mo-mo shrugged. "And I think the blood is you." Everybody sweat dropped as I looked curiously at the blood soaked bandages.

"Well that just won't do." I sighed as I not-so-carefully pulled them off. "It always looks like they stop bleeding faster on TV." I shrugged, and then slowly stumbled over to a rather low extension of wall, which I climbed up onto slowly. I flinched at every landing, which was pretty painful, as I leapt from rock to rock until I made it up onto the roof. Surely enough, Koray and his white haired acquaintance were there, although Ayame was nowhere in sight.

"Come on Koray, just come back! You were our best fighter! You had every opportunity in the world for you! Why'd you even leave?!" Sharivar yelled.

"I doubt you'd understand." Koray sighed.

"You don't see all the opportunities that have been offered to you! You **fool**! If anybody else were to leave the Black Knights they'd be hunted down, tortured, and killed! But you... You were always the special case! Instead of being ordered to kill you, we've been ordered to take you back by any means necessary!" Sharivar yelled, out, throwing his arms aggressively to his sides. "What's so special about **you** anyways, huh?!"

"It's this 'special status', as you deemed it, that's been a real pain in my ass. You see, I just don't think the Knights are worth my time anymore. I have different priorities now, that don't involve the Black Knights." Koray shrugged with a confident smirk.

"Then we'll just have to take you back by force! Get ready!" Sharivar yelled out as he lunged at Koray. After that I couldn't even see the fight; all I heard were grunts, clashes, and battle cries. Suddenly, a slightly panting Koray sent Sharivar flying backwards. Both men were covered in new cuts, but Sharivar was clearly the loser of this match.

"Tch." Koray frowned. "I see you haven't improved much since we last fought together. Maybe in a hundred years you can try again, _kid_."

"Just you wait, Koray!" Sharivar yelled, clearly insulted. "I **will** get you!"

"And your little dog too!" I grinned, totally ruining Sharivar's dramatic escape. He sent me a glare to show his appreciation.

"I'll be back, and when I am..." Sharivar growled, as he backed into a black rift in the sky that had just appeared. "You'll be joining me, Koray." The rift disappeared as soon as he was fully through.

"Well I made that rather anti-climactic." I smiled.

"I'm sure he appreciated it." Koray smirked. I looked down at my bleeding limbs and sighed.

"I should just jump down; it'll probably hurt less than trying to climb…" I sighed, "Only about 200 metres…" I meeped as Koray picked me up, and jumped down into the actual fighting area. He pitched me at Kurama.

"Take better care of your pets, Yoko." Koray smirked.

"I TOLD YOU, I'M NOBODY'S PET!" I screamed out in protest. "THAT WAS ONLY, WHAT? THREE MONTHS AGO?!"

"Well, well, well." Kirane smirked as he stepped over a body to face our little group. Ayame materialized beside Koray.

"He's got her." She growled.

"Yukina!" Kuwabara and Yusuke yelled out as I once again managed to struggle out of Kurama's arms. Yuki appeared behind his brother with Yukina cuffed and tied up, with several sealing tags stuck to her arms, legs, and torso.

"Let her go!" Mo-mo yelled out.

"Why would we do that? She's the prize of the tournament, and I see no winner." Kirane smirked. "So now she's ours."

"But you'd be willing to trade, I assume." I stated more than asked.

"Depends on what you had in mind." Yuki grinned.

"One body for another sound good?" I asked. "Equivalent exchange and all that."

"That's right!" Kuwabara stated. "I will exchange myself for my love!"

"Kuwa…bara…" Yukina said quietly, a slight blush on her cheeks. I punched him on the head, KOing him.

"Why would we want you, you're nothing more than junk food. You'd be bad for our health." Kirane said, using is hand to flip some longer strands of hair away from his face.

"Kuwa-baka," I growled. "Use common sense and shut up. Let me take care of this. Ki-ra-ne!" I said in a sing song voice. "We all know that you're not really interested in Yukina, right?" He smirked, clearly seeing where I was going.

"Correct." He smiled at me.

"You really want _moi_!" I smiled. "So I'll make a deal. Me for her! The only string attached is that you can't touch Mo-mo while we're here! I'm the only one being given up in this trade!"

The twins stared at each other for a rather long period of time. Hiei grunted in agitation. "They're using telepathy... I can't understand what they're saying though."

"I agree with your terms." Kirane smiled.

Yuki shoved Yukina violently towards our group, and all four boys rushed to catch her. Kirane disappeared and reappeared behind me, then literally dragged me away from the group slipping something around my neck in the process. I gasped out and bit down on my lower lip to avoid screaming out in pain.

"Yuki!" Mo-mo yelled out.

"Yes, sweetie?" The vampire Yuki replied with a smile.

"NOT YOU! _FAIYUKI!_" Mo-mo shouted. I screamed out as the pain spread from my head to my torso.

Small tears formed in the corners of my eyes as I clenched them shut. I went limp, totally exhausted, as the pain stopped. I felt Kirane pick me up, and I turned my head away from him.

"You smell bad." I muttered in a tired voice.

"So she's still conscious, eh?" Yuki pouted. "That's no fun." I opened my eyes slightly to look at my worried looking group of friends.

"If anything happens to Mo-mo…" I smiled weakly. "I will make you wish you were dead."

"And my brother wonders why I take interest in you." Kirane said in an overly cheerful voice. I closed my eyes and once again smiled weakly at Mo-mo.

"You stay safe, neh?" I then let myself fall into unconsciousness.


	24. Chapter 24

***MO-MO'S POV***

We all returned to Sarayashiki with our heads held low. A full day had passed since Yuki was taken away by the vampire twins. We knew we had to rescue her fast, but none of us knew where they were hiding out. Kurama said it would be best to return home, rest up until our injuries heal, and then formulate a plan once our heads were cleared up. Although I agree with what he said, we can't afford to waste any time! God knows what Kirane's planning to do to her... Or _already_ doing to her... NO! BAD THOUGHTS STAY AWAAAAAY!

"Mo-mo, are you okay?" Kurama asked as the five of us, plus Yukina, sat on a bus that was taking us to Yusuke's apartment. I must have been making faces or something.

"Yeah... But I'm worried about Yuki..." I explained.

"Me too." Yukina said with a sad face. "She gave herself up to save me, and we don't even know each other."

"Come on, that girl's too tough to let those stupid vamps get the better of her!" Kuwabara stated in a tone that I found just a little too relaxed.

"Kuwabara's right. Just you wait, we'll come up with a plan to get Fai back." Yusuke stated as he drank from a can of beer. Of course by 'we' he meant Kurama.

I let out a sigh as the bus came to a stop and we got off. We walked for a few minutes, then entered an appartment building, and climbed stairs to one of the upper levels. Yusuke let us in, and we settled in the living room. The apartment itself was surprisingly well-kept considering just Yusuke and his mom live there.

"Hey, son, where've ya been?" A very drunk Atsuko asked as she stumbled into the living room.

"I _told_ you, mom, I went to a tournament to rescue Yukina!" Yusuke replied impatiently.

Atsuko knocked the Spirit Detective in the head. "And ya didn't bring me or Keiko?! We woulda cheered for ya like we did at that other tourney, you sorry excuse for a son!" Atsuko scolded.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever." Yusuke muttered, brushing off the topic.

Atsuko then turned to me, and stared for a few seconds. "Who are you?"

"I'm Mo-mo, a new Spirit Detective recruit. It's nice to meet you, Atsuko." I said with a smile.

"Are you Yusuke's new girlfriend?" She asked non-chalantly.

I sweatdropped. "Uh... No. Far from it." God... why does she always assume any girl Yusuke talks to is someone to replace Keiko?

"Yeah, she's more like _Hiei's_ girlfriend." Yusuke said with a laugh. I then brought down the back of my now-materialized my scythe onto the Detective's head. He crashed to the floor, temporarily KOed.

"Stupid..." I muttered, while Yukina, Kuwabara and Kurama restained their laughter. Hiei completely ignored us. "Can we just get back to the matter at hand?!"

"Of course. We can't just leave Aiyoku-san in their hands." Kurama said.

"Well, what do we do then? We have no idea where those freaks have taken her." Kuwabara stated.

I sighed. "There has to be _someone_ who knows something about those two! If Yuki was here, she'd tell us where they live at the very least..."

"Maybe we can help." I literally jumped as a familiar voice whispered into my ear. Koray laughed as I landed on Hiei, who had been sitting next to me.

"Get off!" Hiei shouted as he shoved me away with a blush on his face. "And what the hell are you two doing here?!" He growled at Koray and Ayame.

"Yeah, and who let you into my house?!" Yusuke demanded.

"No one. We let _ourselves_ in." Koray replied with a grin.

Ayame rushed over to Yukina's side "Yukina, are you alright?" The Ice Maiden nodded with a smile. "Are you sure? You're not hurt? Do you have a fever?" Ayame felt the girls forehead, and continued to ask questions. I caught a glimspe of Kuwabara clenching his fists and eyeing Ayame with a death glare that could compete with Hiei.

"Koray, would you care to explain why you and Ayame are here?" Kurama asked politely.

"Oh, there are a few reasons." Koray said as he reached into his pocket and pulled out a case of cigarettes. He lit one for himself, then offered to the rest of us. Yusuke took one, despite the glare he got from his mother. "For starters, we had to make sure Yukina was unharmed. After all, she was the reason we entered the tournament in the first place."

"I've been meaning to ask; why _are_ you two so obsessed with Yukina anyway?" Yusuke questioned.

"Well..." Koray looked over at Hiei, who was giving him a death glare, which soon became directed at meas well.

"It's none of your buisiness!" Ayame declared loudly.

"It's alright Ayame-chan. There's no need to yell." Yukina said with a smile on her face. Reluctantly, Ayame backed off. "You see, I met Ayame when I was captured by Tarukane. She protected me until you guys came to rescue me. But... um..." She turned to Koray. "I've never seen you before..."

Koray smiled. "Just think of it as a favor to someone important me."

"So, are you guys here to help us rescue Faiyuki?" I asked hopefully. If we had two S-class+ demons backing us up, it would make things a lot easier.

"Not really." Koray shrugged, as he breathed out smoke. "Though we _do_ have some information that you all may want."

"Oh? Like what?" Yusuke demanded, as all other activity stopped. Kuwabara stopped glaring at Ayame, who went to stand next to Koray.

Koray breathed out smoke, then smirked. "When Yukina was initially kidnapped, me and Ayame did some research into who the captors were. We managed to trace everything back to the vampire princes, and even found their little kingdom."

"Though, personally, I see no reason why we should share our hard-earned information with you." Ayame scoffed. Somehow this turn of events didn't surprise me at all. On the other hand, it's going be fairly easy to convince them to see things our way.

"You little witch! Our friend has been captured! How could you just keep that information to yourselves?!" Kuwabara shouted more at Ayame than Koray.

Stupid Kuwabara... He has absolutely no idea how to deal with these people... Oh well, at he provides a good distraction. I turned to Yukina. "Hey, Yukina, do you think you could ask those two to help us?"

"What? Why would I have to do it?" The Ice Maiden replied, a little taken aback.

"You would be happy if they helped us rescue Faiyuki, right?"

"Of course..." She said.

"Then just tell them that." I grinned.

"Okay..." Yukina stood up and walked over to Koray and Ayame, who were arguing with Kuwabara. "Excuse me? Ayame-chan, Koray-san..."

"What is it?" The two demons asked with a smile.

"You see... Faiyuki-san gave up herself up to save me. I'd feel aweful if something bad were to happen to her. Could you... I mean, I would greatly appreciate it if you could help my friends save her." Yukina said with a smile.

Koray and Ayame stared with gaping mouths, and large sweatdrops hanging from their heads. They then turned to each other and started to whisper.

"C-come on, Ayame... Tell her our answer..." Koray whispered nervously.

"I can't say no to her!" Ayame whispered back.

"You know her better than I do! It has to be you!" Koray stated.

"_You're_ her father!" Ayame argued.

"_You're_ her protector!" Koray growled. The two looked at Yukina who was watching them with large puppy-dog eyes, but didn't seem to be able to hear their little conversation. Koray cringed. "W-we'll do it..." He said finally. Ayame face-palmed, but said nothing. I resisted the urge to shout out in triumph.

"You will? Thank you so much!" Yukina exclaimed as she pulled the two demons into a hug.

"Awwww, Yukina! How could we say no to you?" Koray exclaimed as he hugged Yukina back, also making a point of including Ayame. I turned my gaze to Hiei, who looked like he was going to throw up... Or utterly destroy Koray.

"A-ah! Get you hands off of me!" Ayame shouted as she freed herself from the two of them and puched Koray hard. Ayame's face had gone deep red, and she was extremely flustered. Yukina turned to the kitsune with a worried expression. "Oh.. Yukina... It wasn't you... It was just..." Ayame stuttered in an attempt to not offend Yukina.

"What's the matter, Ayame? It's a just a little hug." Koray said as he jumped to his feet and put his face close to Ayame's. "I didn't think you'd mind, considering the fun time we had when we first met."

"SHUT UP!" Ayame shouted as she slapped the fire demon, who smirked in response. We all stared in awe at their little spectacle.

"Gosh... You'd think they were married or something..." Kuwabara muttered.

"No kidding..." Yusuke agreed. I grinned. They are SO perfect for each other.

"Anyway..." Kurama started, attractive everyone's attention. "Now that you two have agreed to help us, perhaps it would be a good time to come up with a plan to rescue Aiyoku-san."

"You know, Kurama, I find it hard to believe that someone so smart can also be so dense." I stated loudly. Kurama looked at me with a bewildered expression. "I'm talking about Faiyuki. It wouldn't kill you use her first name you know! Believe me, you guys are past being on a last name basis."

Kurama sighed with a helpless look on his face. "I suppose you're right..."

"Not suppose! I AM right! When we rescue her, call her by her first name! Believe me, it'll make her extremely happy." I commanded.

Kurama paused to think about it.

But then suddenly there was an explosion at the front door. We all readied ourselves for a fight, but then a familiar voice called out.

"Put down your weapons... Or this boy dies." We saw the vampire Kirane standing in the doorway with an unconscious child in his arms. One of his hands was tightly gripping the boy's throat. I couldn't help but feel that the kid looked familiar.

"You..." We all growled at the vampire.

"Shuichi!" Kurama yelled out. Then it hit me. That kid was Kurama's little brother!

"You monster! How low do you have to be to kidnap kids?!" Kuwabara exclaimed.

"Where's Faiyuki?! Is she alright?" I demanded.

"Oh, she's perfectly fine..." The vampire said with a smirk. "However, I cannot guarantee that this boy will be if you don't agree to my terms."

"And what are your terms?" Kurama demanded with a harsh look in his eye.

"The same as when we had that young Ice Maiden in out possession." Kirane explained. "Give me the other girl, and I will give you this child." So he wants me... I should have figured that they wouldn't let things end the way they did. "Of course, if the girl means more to you, I completely understand."

"Fine, we accept your terms." I said. The others looked at me with shock.

"Mo-mo... You don't have to do this..." Kurama said to me hesitantly.

"Of course I do. I know that you guys could never choose one life over another. And I know how important family is to you, Kurama. I'll be fine... Just come to our rescue as quick as you can, okay?" I said as I walked over to the vampire. "Oh, and don't forget what I told you about Faiyuki!"

The vampire then threw Shuichi at Kurama, and put something around my neck, just as he did with Faiyuki. I screamed out in pain, and slowly felt my consciousness slipping away. My knees weakened, and as I fell the vampire caught me and started carrying me away. Just before I blacked out, I realized something... Kirane really did smell bad.

* * *

Hey guys, this is Teresa one of the authors of this wonderful story :P And I wanted to inform on few things that you, our wonderful, supportive readers might be interested in. First of all, for those of you who don't know, there are two authors of this story. Me, Teresa, and my awesome friend Yukisnowchan (see link to her profile in my profile). Basically Mo-mo is my OC, and I write everything from her POV, while Faiyuki is my friend's OC and she writes everything from her POV. Of course we edit each other's work to make sure everything is in order.

Now for some background on our OCs, namely Koray, Ayame and the vamps Kirane and Yuki. All of them have appeared in their own fanfics. Koray is my OC and is the star of my fanfic Amber Moon, which has no connection to TNH. The Black Knights (from the previous chappie) as well as the character Sharivar, are an important part of that fanfic. Basically it depicts Hiei finding out about Koray (his father) in much, much different way. (lotsa fighting, torture and destroying Hiei's life in that one)

Ayame is my friend's OC, and she appears in the fanfic Protecting Innocence. In that fanfic there are details as to how Ayame came to be so obssessed and protective of Yukina, and it also shows how Koray and Ayame met and came to be partners. Its come to be a prequel for TNH. Please go to Yukisnowchan's profile and read and review if you are interested. (there is a link on my profile)

The vamps, Kirane and Yuki (as well as Akira, who made a brief appearance during the tournament) are my friend's OCs as well, and they're from a fanfic called Pain of the Forbidden. Unfortunately, it's something that my friend was working on a while back, and forgot about it, so that one was never completed, nor was it posted on Fanfiction.

Well, thats about it. Thank you for being so supportive of us, and we will try to keep TNH as entertaining as possible you guys :)


	25. Chapter 25

***FAIYUKI'S POV***

I groaned as I woke up in a big, fluffy bed. "Where the hell am I?" I rubbed my eyes.

"Welcome to my home, Kitten." Kirane smiled from a chair next to my bed.

"Can I kill myself now?" I sighed.

"Of course not." Kirane smirked. "And I'm going to be gone for a short time my little kitten, the contract is fulfilled, so I can go and kidnap our little… nuisance."

"Mo-mo?" I asked. He simply smiled and nodded.

"Akira will be here momentarily to show you to the bathing rooms. I have already gone through the courtesy of putting together a wardrobe for you." Kirane smiled.

"If you hurt Mo-mo I'll find a way to kill you." I said simply.

"Of course, I'm sure my brother would assist you. But as my brother and I agreed I have to go and fetch her now." Kirane smiled. "Akira!"

"What do you want?" She said, instantly appearing at the door. Something was different about her; in fact, a lot was different about her. Like maybe the fact that she no longer looked sixteen, but more like six. I blinked in confusion.

"I don't remember making you able to do that." I muttered to myself. Now it was the vampires' turn to look at me funny. "Whatever, why are you…" I really didn't know how to phrase the awkward question.

"How do you think we stay so pretty?" Akira smirked. "We just use our ancient magic to change our age to whatever we want." Akira shrugged. "I usually stay at the same age as Kirane and Yuki but…"

"They found a game you'd be a third wheel to." I said with an intentionally offensive voice. "And that would be Mo-mo and I." She just shrugged and looked away. "I can understand the age choice then, it's easier to get people to trust you when you're younger, and then more entertaining when they see that they shouldn't have." She struggled to hide her knowing smile.

"Well anyways, Kirane, you should be off, Yuki's impatient." Akira said with a sigh. "Don't worry; I'll babysit the new housecat." I hissed slightly at the insult, but tried to ignore her.

"Then I'll be leaving now, but I'll be back." Kirane smiled at me before disappearing.

I kicked my legs over the side of the bed, and walked over to the tall, oak wardrobe that stood up against the bare walls of the room. I opened it and looked inside, then blinked as I pulled the first thing I could reach out.

A black Lolita dress.

I tossed it onto the bed, and then tried my luck again.

And got more or less the same result.

"STUPID TYPICAL VAMPIRE BOY! What's with all the gothic Lolita crap?!" I yelled out after my fifth attempt, glaring at the stack of black dresses on my bed.

"Don't expect to find anything else." Akira said from behind the stack of dresses. "That was actually all I could find. Why d'ya think I wear the boy's clothes?"

I turned to her. "Hand em over."

"Doesn't work like that! I already gave all the adult clothes to the Impures, and then I got my stuff made for me." Akira said with a teasing grin.

"What's an Impure? Although I could probably assume…" I asked, looking over to Akira.

"Vampires not born under the crimson moon!" Akira smiled, as I gave her an even more confused look. "The crimson moon occurs for about a month once ever century and is the only time a pureblood vampire can be born. Also the height of still births though…" Akira said thoughtfully.

"How does that work, anyways? A lot of people seem to think vampires are incapable of giving birth." I asked, leaning in close, my curiosity caught. Akira blinked at me.

"Sheesh, he wasn't joking when he said you're too curious." She said with a sigh. "We _can_ give birth, but even two pureblood vampires can only create purebloods during a crimson moon. A lot of 'em are born dead though." I opened my mouth to ask another question, but Akira answered me before I could ask. "Impures are pretty much weaker versions of purebloods. They can only use basic magic and are even lower than people changed by purebloods! I am a pureblood, so if I were to go and change a human then that human would be my slave, but they would still be higher than an Impure." I once again inhaled to ask another question, but then: "Yes Impures can change humans."

"I see... Wow! You so need to tell me more, later!" I moaned looking at the nearly empty closet. "THERE ARE NO WEARABLE CLOTHES IN HERE!"

"Hmm…" Akira jumped off the bed and landed next to me. "This? Hurry up and pick so I can hurry up and take you to your bath, then take you to your next sitter."

"Yuki?" I asked. She nodded and I sighed. "Perfect, just perfect." And then I saw the dress in her hand. It (like everything else in this bloody wardrobe) was black, but it was a kimono.

"YAY! No loli!" I sang as I glomped Akira. "Thank youuuuu! This is wearable!"

"Y-you'll have to wear the other stuff eventually..." She muttered awkwardly as she pulled out of my cling.

"Still a little longer that I don't! We can go now, I guess." I said, smiling at my current hero. She sighed, then grabbed onto my arm.

"Stop acting like a fool. Let's go." She muttered as she dragged me out of the room.

******************

"Yuki! You get to deal with her now!" Akira literally threw me into Yuki, who was sitting on the floor of his room. "SHE ASKS SO MANY GOD DAMNED QUESTIONS!"

"Sorry you fascinate me so much." I muttered with a pout.

"I'M OUTTA HERE!" Akira slammed the door as Yuki dumped me onto the floor.

"Well, what do I do with you?" He asked more himself than me.

"Do you have paper?" I asked.

"No."

"A pool?"

"You're not allowed to leave the room."

"A piano?"

"I told you that you can't leave!" Yuki growled.

"Well, I figured you were strong enough to carry it. I know _Hiei_ could carry a piano." In an instant Yuki was gone, then standing in front of the doorway with a baby grand piano weighing on his back. He somehow managed to get it into the room.

"There! Happy?" He said through pants.

"Of course not." I stated simply. "I'm here with beings I don't like, and barely know, against my will, with no good clothes to wear." I smiled as I sat on the piano bench. "I should have memorized more music…" I muttered with a sigh.

"Well?" Yuki asked.

"Well what?" I replied immediately.

"Aren't you going to play?"

"I don't feel like playing anymore." Yuki twitched as he resisted the obvious urge to rip my throat out. After a few minutes of silence I turned around on the bench to face him.

"MY GOD!" I yelled, taking him by surprise. "How _stupid_ can you be?!" He blinked at my random outburst. "You have Mo-mo's **best friend** and you aren't even going to _**try**_to get some information on how to at least please her from me?" I slammed my hand down on the piano.

"That was kind of… random…" Yuki muttered, blinking at me.

"You're kidding me, right?" I sighed.

"Well, how exactly do you ask a question like that, huh? 'Oh, by the way, how do I get this girl who hates me to love me?'"

"EXACTLY!" He blinked as I poked him in the forehead. "Okay, first, can you cook?"

"No, I've never had to before…"

"Well, Mo-mo has an endless stomac, so you're screwed." I sighed.

"I doubt the little fire midget cooks!" Yuki objected.

"Sparky-chan has a lot more going for him though." I stated simply. "Okay, let's try this one…"

******************

For the next hour and a half Yuki and I pretty much did question answer sessions where he got shot down in flames next to every time.

"So all you really have going for you," I said simply, "Is that you're a vampire, and you're strong."

"Don't be so blunt about it." He said with a whiney voice. I shrugged in return and Akira walked in.

"Okay! It's time to take little Kitten back to her… when did you get a piano Yuki?" Akira said poking the big space consuming piece of furniture.

"Just today, actually…" He sighed, sending me an intentional glare.

"Hm, didn't know you could play." Akira sighed. "Anyways! Time to take the kitten to her cage!"

"Question." I started.

"NO MORE QUESTIONS!" Akira and Yuki yelled in unison.

"TO BAD!" I yelled back. "I'M HUNGRY, SO WHAT WILL YOU FEED ME!?"

"Uh… we have AB negative if you wan-" Akira smacked Yuki in the head. "Owww that hurt!"

"She needs actual food, moron."

"Rice is fine… with tea… and lots of sugar and cake and cookies and…" I blinked twice. "When'd I get so sleepy…?" I fell over, asleep on the carpet.


	26. Chapter 26

***MO-MO'S POV***

I slowly drifted into consciousness. My head hurt like hell, though that was nothing new. I found myself lying on a soft bed in a dark room where there were a few candles lit.

"So you've woken up." I nearly jumped at the unexpected sound that came from my right. Much to my surprise, the source of the voice was Kirane and not that annoying Yuki.

"What do _you_ want?" I growled irritably. "Shouldn't you be off courting Faiyuki?"

"In due time I shall. But I have some business with you first." Kirane said with a smirk.

I raised an eyebrow. "What would _you_ want with _me_?"

The vampire stood up, and put his face close to mine, looking me straight in the eye. "Please... You must tell me how to win Kitten's love."

"Huh....?" I stared with a gaping mouth and wide eyes.

"You are her closest friend, are you not?" The vampire asked while moving in a little too close to me. "You must know what she looks for in a man. Please, tell me what it will take to make her love me."

I pushed the vamp away from me. "Uh... yeah... look, I don't think you have a chance in hell when it comes to winning over Fai. She hates you. It's as simple as that, and there's nothing you can do to change it."

Kirane smirked. "Fortunately for me, I'm too stubborn to let things end like that. Regardless of what you say, I will still try. Now tell me everything about her." I sighed. He makes a good effort, but Fai likes guys like Kurama... This guy's way too pushy. Not to mention his charm is too overwhelming for it to be attractive. Kirane then grabbed me by the chin and forced me to look him in the eye. "I said; tell me everything about my dear Kitten." He demanded harshly.

I swatted his hand away. "Come on, if I'm gonna tell you anything about her, you've gotta be more specific than 'everything'!"

"Alright then; what's her favourite color?"

I paused for a moment. Not quite the insightful question I was waiting to answer. "Um... She likes red... blood red. And blue... Yellow too, I think."

"Perfect." The vampire smiled. "Now tell me what kind of food she prefers to eat."

"Well, she likes... Wait; do you even know how to cook human food?" I questioned.

Kirane smirked. "Of course. I can cook any form of human food. And tonight she will be dining on whatever manner of cuisine you tell me, which will be prepared by me."

Jeez, this guys gonna take anything I say as the gospel truth. Wait... Now there's an idea. I smiled. If he finds out, I'm dead, though... No, wait, Yuki wouldn't let him hurt me no matter what! So that means... "Well, she definitely loves pasta... real Italian style, you know? And she adores really cheesy sauces... Particularly alfredo sauce."

"I see..." Kirane said, clearly pleased.

**********

After a good hour of questions, Kirane finally seemed fully satisfied and left. Since he didn't trust me being alone, a little girl who looked about six years old was left with me. After introductions, I realized that she was Akira, the vampire who had brought us gifts from Yuki and Kirane during the tournament.

"So where's Faiyuki?" I asked.

"Elsewhere. You're not permitted to see her." The small vampire explained.

"Whatever..." I muttered.

"You know, you should really change your clothes... They're looking kinda worn out." Akria said, looking me up and down.

"Yeah, you're probably right..." I agreed. "Is there anything for me to change into?" Akira pointed to a large wardrobe. I walked over and looked inside, but then froze. "What... the hell is this?!" I exclaimed as I pulled out a white, frilly maid's outfit. Everything in the wardrobe was a white maid outfit, but with slight differences in the design.

"Yuki picked it out for you." Akira said simply.

"That fucking..." I stopped myself before I went insane. "He could have at least have made everything _black_!"

"Don't worry; I brought you something else to wear for the time being." Akira said with a sigh as she handed me a white kimono. "You friend had a similar reaction to what Kirane picked out for her; so I figured you, too, might want something else."

"Thanks..." I said as politely as I could. I was surprised she was being so nice to me.

"But like I said, it's just for the time being. When Yuki gets here, he'll probably want you to wear one of his outfits." Akira explained as I changed into the kimono.

"Who cares what that idiot wants? I'd never wear any of those outfits in a million years!"

"MO-MO!" I heard an unpleasantly familiar voice call out from the doorway.

"Yuki..." I growled as the vampire entered the room.

"Akira, you can leave now. I want some time alone with my sweetheart." Yuki said as he shooed Akira out of the room, and closed the door behind him. He then turned to me, with an overly-excited face. I responded with a glare. "Where did you get that outfit, Mo-mo? The color looks great on you, but I had some other styles prepared for you."

"First of all, I hate white!" I exclaimed. "Second of all, I would never in my entire life wear a fucking maid's outfit!"

Yuki then suddenly approached me and took my hands into his own, and looked me directly in the eye. "Don't worry; I shall have a better outfit made for you immediately. Is there anything else you want?"

"Uh..." I started, taken aback by the invasion of my personal space. "Well.... I'm kinda hungry..."

"Don't worry; I know how to cook, so I'll fix you a meal right now!" Yuki said with excitement as he led me out of the room and down a long, dark hallway. The next room we entered was a large dining room that had a long table with fancy plates and cutlery. It too had candles for light. Yuki closed the doors behind us and locked them with a key."Sit down and relax. I'll be back shortly with a meal for you." He then went through a small door that most likely led to the kitchen.

"Great..." I muttered to myself as I sat down at a random seat. "Now what?" I looked around the room, hoping to find another exit. Much to my dismay there were no other doors, nor were there any windows. With no way to escape, I would just have to wait for Yuki to come back.

I sat there for a good 15 boring minutes before I heard someone fiddling with the lock to the doors of the dining room. They suddenly opened, letting in none other than Faiyuki and Kirane.

"Yuki!" I called out to my friend.

"Mo-mo!" She replied as we ran to each other and hugged tightly. "Are you okay? Kirane didn't hurt you when he brought you here, did he?"

"No, I'm fine." I told her.

"Mo-mo? Did you call me?" The vampire Yuki asked as he burst into the room. We all stared awkwardly at the pink apron he was wearing, if nothing else.

"Since when do you cook?" Kirane eyed his brother curiously.

"Ah... Well, I wanted to do something special for Mo-mo..." Yuki stuttered with a slight blush on his face.

Kirane sighed. "Whatever. Just get out of the kitchen. I need to prepare Kitten's dinner."

"But I'm not done making Mo-mo's!" Yuki argued.

"Who cares? I'm the older brother, now listen to me!" Kirane commanded.

"But I got here first!" Yuki objected.

"Woah, children!" Faiyuki exclaimed. "Quit bickering, you're giving me more of a headache than I already have!"

"Yeah, why can't you guys just _share_ the kitchen?" I told them.

They stared at me as they comprehended the idea of using the same work space. I guess as vampires they've never had to cook for themselves, and so don't understand basic kitchen rules.

"Look, just get going, and leave us alone." Faiyuki demanded as she shoved the two vampires into the kitchen. Despite the obvious awkwardness, the brothers remained in the kitchen. Now that we were alone, Faiyuki turned to me with desperate look in her eyes and started ranting. "We have **got** to get out of here! I can't stand being around that guy, he's gonna drive me into _insanity_! The name, the clothes, the pampering which really doesn't feel like pampering, but more like **torture**! I can't take it anymore! I'd rather have to deal with Kurama refusing to call me by my first name!"

"Don't worry, the guys'll come and rescue us." I reassured her. "They have Koray and Ayame helping them out, who claim to know where this place is."

"Really?" Faiyuki asked, astonished. "How'd the guys get those two to agree to it?"

"Well, I had Yukina ask them for a little favour..." I smirked.

"Genius." Faiyuki smiled.

Suddenly we heard the crashing of pots and pans, and then we could hear the two vamps yelling at each other. "They seem to be having fun..." I said sarcastically.

"No kidding..." Faiyuki replied.


	27. Chapter 27

***AIYOKU FAIYUKI'S POV***

"Neh, Mo-mo…" I said as I walked quickly to the only door that didn't lead to the kitchen.

"Hm?" She looked up, balancing three sharp steak knives across her fingers like pens.

"Pass me one a those." I grinned.

"For…?" She asked curiously.

"Well…" I grinned, "I shouuuld be able to pick this lock." Mo-mo just gave me an off look and tossed one of her playthings at me. It stuck into the wall, not even a centimeter away from my head.

"Have fun." She shrugged. I smiled with a slight twitch as a few strands of hair fell into my upturned palm.

"You know... if I could, I'd hang you from the ceiling right now." I smiled as I linked my pinkie around the thin piece of string holding the seal around my neck. "I wanna take this off…" I sighed. "But I can't…" I pulled the knife out of the wall and shoved it in the jam of the door; I managed to get it under one of the two locks relatively quickly.

"Yeah, these things are annoying! Hurt like hell when they put it on too." Mo-mo muttered.

"Neh... pass me a fork, will ya?" I demanded.

"Awwww… no more knives?" She teased.

"Not with the way you hand em over!" I giggled.

"Ohhh…?" She smirked, "Like this?" She threw the fork and it pinned me to the wall by the sleeve of my kimono.

"Oh thanks…" I said with a sigh, as I pulled out the fork.

"No problem!" She grinned.

I fiddled around with the lock for a few minutes, trying to get the metal under the curve of the lock, when I heard a satisfying **click**. "Got it!" I grinned.

"Dinner is served!" Yuki said bursting out of the kitchen doors with two plates balanced on his hands.

"You are KIDDING ME!" I whined as Kirane appeared beside me, leading me away from my little achievement to the table.

"Ah, ah, ah Kitten. Dinner time, behave yourself." He said.

"But, but, but looooock…" I whined, pointing at the door like a little kid. "It's not fair!" I said with tears streaming down my cheeks. "So clooooose…"

"Just enjoy the food, Faiyuki, I'm hungry." Mo-mo said, taking her knife and fork while glaring at Yuki, who held the delicious looking plate of Curry just out of her reach.

"Curry…" I said nearly drooling. "Yummmmm…"

"And for you, my little Kitten." Kirane said, holding a plate of pasta utterly drowned in alfredo sauce.

I twitched. "Kirane…" I hissed, looking down at the plate in front of me. "You Idiot!" I took the plate and flipped it on top of his head. "This stuff barely deserves to be a wig for you! Are you _trying _to kill me with a stomach ache?!"

"But she told me…" Kirane turned and glared at Mo-mo, who had stolen the extra plate of curry that Yuki had. I turned a harsh glare to Kirane and went and sat beside Mo-mo, on the far side away from Kirane.

"Brilliant!" Mo-mo gasped between laughs.

"Mo-mo…" I looked up at her with puppy eyes. "Curry?"

"Of course!" She grinned. "What do you think I was saving it for!"

"Next time don't try to have my stalker kill me with food poisoning, okay?" She gave me a sheepish grin and handed the warm plate of curry over.

"You're the one that left me with angelic style maids dresses."

"Well… I got stuck with gothic Lolita…" I sighed.

"At least it wasn't white…" Mo-mo said near tears.

"Awwww, don't worry about it! The boys will come get us soon!" I grinned.

"They won't be able too." Mo-mo and I looked down at Kirane who was leaning on his propped-up hand, and picking pasta out of his hair with the other. "Or at least they'll bicker so much that they won't be able too. After all, I can't see Yoko getting along very well with Hiei or Yusuke." Kirane sighed, and then just shook his head to deal with the remaining pasta and sauce.

"What are… you talking about." I said, eyeing Kirane suspiciously.

"Whatever, so what's the problem?" Mo-mo said, giving Kirane a funny look. "Wouldn't that make them stronger?"

"Tch. Not in this city." Yuki said, taking a sip out of a glass of what may be mistaken for red wine. "The demons and the vampires have been at odds for centuries! Because of the rapid decline in pure bloods, the vampires with the stronger magic have placed sealing tags around the city, much like the ones you two currently wear, but with slight changes. It nulls their power anywhere within the walls of this city. Any humans that step into this city will be lunch if it doesn't have guards; the Impures and the Changed aren't as picky as we are with our food." Yuki tipped his glass as if giving a 'cheers', then downed the rest of its content.

"So Kuwabara couldn't come." Mo-mo said with a shrug, "And Hiei is more or less useless if he's been brought down to this level of strength with his energy sealed away. You forget though; Kurama and Yusuke aren't humans or demons." She smirked, thinking she had beaten the vamps at their own game.

"Wait… You said Yoko? As in Yoko Kurama the fox thief, right?" I said, glaring at Kirane. "You have some way to force them into a full demon form."

"Correct." Kirane said with a smile.

"I see…" I muttered to myself. "Do you have a hot springs around here?" I asked.

"That was random…" Yuki muttered with a sweatdrop.

"We do." Kirane said.

"Good! I need an activity that allows me to talk with Mo-mo, and not with you! Swimming sounds like a good one." I said with a smile. I stood up, nearly knocking my chair over, and walked over to the door. Mo-mo, Yuki, and Kirane watched me as I inspected the cutlery that had fallen to the floor. I shook my head with a sigh. "Thanks for the meal, I'm excusing myself." I smiled over my shoulder at them, and then kicked in the door. The first time, it held, barely, but it flew open the second attempt.

"Hey! Don't leave me here!" Mo-mo said, after swallowing. She too stood up, actually knocking over her chair, and took a few steps away from the table, before she turned around and grabbed her plate of food and left. "See ya!" She said as she jogged out of the room after me.

"They let us leave." I said in a slightly surprised tone as I wandered into yet another dead end.

"Or maybe we lost them in the process of losing ourselves…" Mo-mo sighed.

I shrugged at her. "At least they're not here, neh?" I said, and then fell over as the walls, floor, and ceiling shook violently.

"What the hell was that?!" Mo-mo shouted, as she stood up and another terrifying tremor shook the building.

"I dunno, a secret?" I asked, but in truth, I was worried all over again. I don't take the demon realm to be the kinda place where earthquakes occur naturally. They'd probably have to be induced by some powerful demon. "We should find a place to get out, don't want the building to collapse on us." I said, cautiously standing up. Suddenly Yuki appeared, picking up Mo-mo who blinked in surprise.

"Yuki! Let me go!" Mo-mo yelled. I gave Yuki a harsh look, but I could see the worry in his eyes.

I smirked. "I told you the boys would come and get us."

"That damn 'Dragon of the Darkness Flames' that your oversized friend Koray likes to use… how the hell did it make it into range of the city?" Yuki glared at me.

"Maybe it rode the back of Hiei's or something." I said sarcastically, "How the hell am I supposed to know, and why should I care?" Yuki just growled in agitation.

"Get on my back. Brother has to deal with the citizens; everybody's in a panic." I gave Yuki a suspicious look. "Fine, stay here and let the building collapse on you. I'll just tell Kirane I was too late." Yuki turned around.

"Why not take off the tags off for us first." I said, as I used the opportunity to pull Mo-mo away from him.

He growled in agitation. "This isn't the time, cat."

"But I won't get the opportunity later." I said with a smile.

"Fine! It won't make a difference anyways." Yuki growled, as he yanked the strings away from Mo-mo and my necks. "Now hurry up."

"Greatly appreciated!" I said with a smile, as I jumped up onto his back.

"Why do I have to be carried in his arms?!" Mo-mo objected.

"Because he's your stalker." I pointed out. She huffed in annoyance but allowed herself to be picked up.

We reappeared just outside the castle where Kirane was struggling with Akira, who looked a lot older again, maybe twenty something, to calm the surge of angry vampires.

"EVERYBODY SHUT UP!" I yelled, putting my hand to my head, another new migraine suddenly in full bloom. "Thank you!" I said, sarcastically, as a hush fell over the large group of vampires.

"That was easy…" Akira muttered. Kirane started to tell the vampires to go back to where ever they came from when suddenly the air became heavy with energy, and a large, black, western style dragon smashed into the large castle we had just been in, collapsing it. All the vampires started to surge away from the castle, when suddenly, a dragon larger than the last landed right in the centre of the large crowd, engulfing them all in flames.

I winced slightly as the skin that wasn't covered by the fabric of the kimono I was wearing, started to burn from exposure to the harsh flames. I tried to hide my hands, which were especially sensitive to the heat.

"And there goes all the citizens of our current rule..." Yuki said, putting his now empty hands behind his head. Mo-mo stood just behind me.

"And this is why I love Koray." She said with a grin.

"The question is; can they get to us?" I muttered, more to myself than to her.

The few remaining Impures that managed to survive the blast hid behind Kirane and Akira. It was a pathetic number. Three children, and one male and female adult. I looked into the flames as I brought my hands up over my sensitive feline ears to block out the cries of the vampire people.

No more blasts came after that, and the remaining vampires, including the three Pure Bloods, were out looking for other survivors. Mo-mo and I just wandered through the still burning village.

"I am so lost." I said with a sigh.

"That means I'm lost too! I was following you!" Mo-mo whined.

"You should know better than to do that." I said with a grin.

"Hey! Mo-mo! Fai! Is that you two?" Yusuke said, running up to us.

"You look better with long hair and tattoos." I said, smiling as he knocked the long hair out of his face.

"It's annoying." Yusuke muttered. "Nice outfits." The Spirit Detective blinked, taking in the solid black and solid white kimono that Mo-mo and I wore.

"Not our choice in outfits." Mo-mo sighed, yanking at the white dress.

"Stupid vampires put together our wardrobe." I sighed, waving the black sleeve of my kimono slightly.

"Whatever, doesn't really matter." Yusuke said, turning around and beginning to walk away. "Hiei and Kurama are outside the village. Ayame and Koray are looking for you guys but-"

"Hey! There's our little lost Kitten!" Koray said as he appeared next to us with Ayame running at his heals, panting slightly. "A little harder when you can't just teleport, isn't it Ayame." Koray teased his partner.

"Shut... up." Ayame said between heavy breaths. "You just... run too fast."

"Oh?" Koray said, a suspicious looking smile spreading across his face. "Then I'll just have to help you out."

"Thank you! Slowing down wouldn't be so- Ah! Koray! Put me down!" Ayame gasped between breaths, as she struggled in Koray's arms. "Let me…" Ayame struggled to breathe some more, then just gave up. Koray gave a victorious smile as we walked down the narrow streets of the village.

"I'm surprised that Yuki and Kirane haven't shown up." I said, as we neared the outermost wall of the city.

"They'd be pretty busy right now, dealing with the citizens. They're considered the 'Royal Family' here, so they've got a lot to do right now." Ayame said from up in Koray's arms. I just shrugged and we walked through the gate.

Suddenly, the marks on Yusuke disappeared, along with my ears and tail.

"Didn't expect that to happen." Yusuke said, as he started at the vacant spots on my head.

"It makes sense, I've been exerting energy since I transformed, between the test, Kurama's training, and the tournament. I stopped exerting energy after I was kidnapped, but because of the seals I'd stay transformed." I shrugged. "Now that there's no seals, it makes sense that I'd turn back into the way I was before."

"I'm not gettin' any of it!" Yusuke said, with a grin. "Let's just hurry up and meet up with Kurama and Hiei. God, you'll laugh when ya see him Fai!" Yusuke chuckled. "He barely stayed conscious after summoning his dragon, then it nearly killed him when Koray used it as a stepping stone!"

I blinked twice. "So I was right?" I giggled slightly. "And I was just joking too. Hmm… I don't think I'll forgive Kurama for the last name basis thing yet… Even if I did miss him." I sighed.

"You're too harsh." Mo-mo joked. I just shrugged as we continued to walk towards the cliff where our companions waited.


	28. Chapter 28

***MO-MO'S POV***

"Hey guys! Look who we found!" Yusuke grinned as we approached Kurama, Kuwabara and an unconscious Hiei.

"Well, it's about time!" Kuwabara burst out. "Are you two okay?"

"Yeah, things weren't so bad." I said with a grin. "Right Fai?"

She twitched. "Speak for yourself..."

"Jeez, has Hiei _still_ not woken up?" Koray muttered as he dropped Ayame, and rushed over to his son's side. "Then again... I suppose I did push him a little too far..."

"I think that's an understatement." I said, as I went and over to Hiei's side as well. I noticed that Kurama was still standing there, and decided to give him a hard push in Faiyuki's direction. He stumbled a little before bumping into her.

"Ah... Sorry..." He mumbled with slight awkwardness.

"Whatever... What do you want anyway?" Faiyuki said coldly.

Kurama hesitated slightly, then took a large intake of breath and said, "I'm just glad you're alright... Fai-san."

"Wait... What?!" I saw Faiyuki's eyes go wide with surprise and utter disbelief. "Who are you, and what have you done with Kurama?!"

"Oh... Did I upset you?" Kurama asked nervously.

Faiyuki ran over to me. "MO-MO! SOMETHING STRANGE IS HAPPENING! MY KURAMA'S BEEN REPLACED BY SOMEONE WHO ACTUALLY USES MY _FIRST_ NAME!"

"Your reaction was perfect." I smiled.

"Wait... Did _you_ plan this?!" She eyed me suspiciously.

"Maybe..." I said with a rather large smirk.

"Awwww, I love you Mo-Mo!" Faiyuki said as she hugged me. "And as for you," She turned to Kurama. "Thank you for _finally_ using my first name, though next time I'd prefer if it wasn't on someone else's orders."

"O-okay..." Kurama said with tears in his eyes. The poor guy just couldn't win.

"Well, guys, we have no more business here, so I suggest we leave." Koray said as he started smoking.

"Oh yeah, Koray. I forgot to point something out," I said with a sadistic grin. He eyed me curiously. "Way to go for nearly destroying another race!"

He froze. His eyes were wide, and his mouth was gaping as his cigarette fell to the ground.

"_Another_ race..." The others wondered.

"Yeah, he killed off all the fire demons where he comes from." I said with a grin. I should know, I _wrote_ it. Everyone glared at him oddly.

"H-how do you know about that...?" He asked nervously.

"It's cause she's the author of your life!" Faiyuki burst out. I kicked her to the ground. "Owwww, what was that for?!"

"X-ney on the author-say!" I muttered through gritted teeth. Koray glared at me suspiciously, and I replied with an awkward smile.

Suddenly we heard a groan. "Ugh... What the hell are you fools talking about?" Hiei muttered as he returned to consciousness and sat himself up.

"Welcome back, Sparkey-chan." Faiyuki said with a cat-like grin.

Hiei growled. "Careful what you say, or else I'll return you to that vampire!"

"You won't do that..." Faiyuki replied with a sadistic grin. "After all, that would make Yukina sad."

"Tch!" Hiei spat out as he turned away.

"How're you feeling?" I asked. "I heard Koray was being an ass to you and the dragon."

"Hn. I'm fine. It's not like I can't handle myself." He shrugged. After a pause, he looked at me from over his shoulder, and said: "And you...? That guy didn't... you know...do anything, did he?"

"Ah... No. I'm fine. Both of us are." I said, a little taken aback by his concern.

"What's this, Hiei? You care about Mo-Mo? Huh?" Kuwabara teased, as he nudged the fire demon.

"NO!" Hiei shouted as he swat Kuwabara away. "I just figured I should ask, since the only reason we're here was to rescue them!"

"Oh? Then why'd ya only ask Mo-Mo if she was alright?" Yusuke said with a grin.

"It's because I find the other one detestable." Hiei stated.

"I love you too!" Faiyuki said sarcastically.

"But that means that you actually _like_ Mo-Mo, don't it?" Koray teased as he pinched Hiei's cheek.

"Just leave me alone!" Hiei shouted as he punched Koray away.

"Can we _please_ get out of here?" Ayame said with a begging tone. "You people are seriously annoying me."

"Yeah, yeah. Whatever..." Yusuke muttered.

**********

"So... Yukina was successfully rescued at the end of the tournament, which was organized by the Vampire Princes Kirane and Yuki, in exchange for Faiyuki. Mo-Mo was then captured a few days later, causing the rest of you to go on a mission to rescue the two girls. And that mission was only successful due to the plan that a man named Koray came up with." Koenma recited, in order to confirm the results of the past couple months. We were all forced to line up in his office, while confirming everything that had happened. Emphasis on the word 'forced'.

"You got it, pacifier-breath." Yusuke muttered with annoyance.

Koenma twitched, but decided to ignore him for the time being. "And then, in the process of rescuing Mo-Mo and Faiyuki, the majority of the vampire race was wiped out."

"Yeah, we get it! Can we go now?!" Yusuke demanded.

"Be patient, Yusuke. After all, Koenma needs to know this." Kurama said.

"Then why don't _you_ tell him?" Hiei said. "Personally, I'd rather not have to stay here a moment longer."

"Gosh, why are you guys so fussy today? You know, the longer you whine, the longer it's gonna take to finish this." Kuwabara pointed out.

"Well, aren't we a cheery bunch." Faiyuki said with heavy sarcasm.

"Mmmm... I'm hungry..." I groaned, since I haven't eaten anything since we were at the vamps' castle.

"Will you all just pay attention?!" Koenma shouted, clearly unable to contain his impatience much longer. "So where are Koray and Ayame now?"

"Forgive us, Koenma, but both of them refused to come here. They are most likely keeping an eye on Yukina." Kurama explained.

"I see... And they never really explained who they are?" Koenma asked.

"Well, Mo-Mo and Faiyuki seem to know quite a great deal about them..." All eyes turned to me and Fai.

"Oh..." I started, noticing that Hiei was giving me a harsh glare. "We don't know anything beyond their fighting abilities."

"Yeah, that's right." Faiyuki agreed, going on with my lie.

"I see. Well, then you're all free to go." Koenma sighed. We all lightened up, ready to go home and relax, until...

"Question." Faiyuki said raising her hand. We all groaned. "Where are Mo-Mo and I gonna live? After all, we kinda ditched our families."

"Never thought about that..." I muttered.

"Don't worry; I've made arrangements for you two." Koenma explained.

"Oh...?" We all wondered.

**********

"Wow... This place isn't half-bad." Faiyuki said as the two of us stepped into our new apartment and looked around. It was pretty simple; we entered into the living room, then to the right was the entrance to the kitchen, and down a small hall was a bathroom and two bedrooms.

"Nice and cozy." I grinned as I plopped down on the living room couch and tested our TV. "Though I wish it would have come with a new wardrobe..." I whined as I pinched at the white kimono I was still wearing due to lack of proper clothes.

"Didn't Yusuke's mom say she was gonna take us shopping tomorrow or something?" Faiyuki wondered.

"Yeah, she said she was gonna round up Keiko and Shizuru and get us some suitable clothes, not to mention some uniforms for when school starts." I explained.

"Yeah! That's right; we get to go to school now! I actually can't wait!" Fai squealed. I grinned. It certainly _would_ be entertaining.

"So you two will be staying here from now on?"

"WOAH!" We both jumped at the unexpected sound of a third person in the room. We looked in the direction the voice came from, only to see Koray standing near our door.

"STOP APPEARING OUT OF NOWHERE!" Faiyuki yelled at him. "AND KNOCK NEXT TIME!" He shrugged at her as he pulled out a cigarette and started smoking. Suddenly, a small amount of water jumped up and soaked his cigarette. "NO SMOKING IN _MY_ APARTMENT! TRY IT AGAIN, AND _YOU'LL_ BE THE ONE WHO GETS SOAKED NEXT!"

"Awwww." He said putting on a pitiful face.

"So where's Ayame? Did she dump you?" I asked, half-jokingly.

"Huh? Well.... No... She's watching over Yukina..." Koray stuttered, a little taken aback.

"Whatever, why are you here again?" Faiyuki demanded.

Koray didn't respond, but rather moved in close to me so we were looking each other in the eye. He was almost right on top of me, so I backed as far into the couch as I could, for fear of awkward physical contact. "What exactly do you know about me?" He demanded, with a very serious tone to his voice.

"I... Uh..." I stuttered.

"Don't bother lying. I'll _know_ if you do." He said harshly. "Now tell me how you knew that I killed the fire demon race, as well as anything else you happen to know about me." I knew I couldn't lie to him, but it's not like I could tell him the truth either.

Suddenly Koray jumped away from me in order to dodge three ice blades that had been thrown in his direction. "Don't treat Mo-Mo like that. She hasn't done anything to you." Faiyuki said as she readied more ice blades in her hands.

Koray smirked. "I suppose you're right. Neither of you have done anything wrong. But... I'll still be keeping an eye on you, just to make sure." Then he disappeared.

"He's got some serious trust issues..." Faiyuki muttered.

"Yeah, but I'm the one responsible for it..." I sighed.

"Oh, well. Hungry? I think we should get some dinner in us, then go sleep."

"Sounds like a plan." I grinned as the thought of food brought me into a joyous mood.


	29. Chapter 29

***AIYOKU FAIYUKI'S POV***

Mo-mo was in bed, totally KO'd. It made sense, since neither of us had gotten much sleep in the last few months, but where I'm used to partial insomnia; Mo-mo surely was not. She prized her sleep over everything but food, really.

"We'll get to start school soon… Yay… More uniforms…" I sighed quietly, then froze mid step. "Uniforms… the girl's uniform… is disgusting." I muttered in horror. "The boy's is okay but in a school like _that_ I'd never get away with it. Mo-mo's going to the delinquent school, so she'll be fine but…" I quickly walked to the kitchen as a sudden epiphany hit me hard; kind of like the door I ran head on into on the way. "I _should_ be fine… if they think I'm a boy that is…" I grinned mischievously as I pulled a very shiny, sharp pair of scissors out of the cutlery drawer. "So I'll just have to make them think that."

******************

"Yuki! Wake up!" Mo-mo yelled as she banged on my door. I groaned and rolled over as she kicked my door in. "Rise and shi - HOLY CRAP!" I sat up and rubbed my eye slightly.

"Whaaaaat..?" I moaned, tired as hell. Like I am every morning, really.

"WHAT DID YOU DO TO YOUR HAIR!?!?!?!?" She yelled, pointing with a horrified look.

"Uhhh… cut it?" I yawned, shaking my fingers through my hair, which stood on every odd angle possible, and impossible.

"You look like hell." She muttered

"Oh well…" I sighed, rubbing my head as I stood up. "Breakfast done yet?"

"No… was I supposed to cook?" She muttered. "Whatever, I'll start working on it. You should shower. We'll probably have to get your hair fixed too."

"Meh, doesn't matter." I shrugged, as I grabbed a set of clothes, containing a pair of track pants and a t-shirt that Yusuke had lent me. Mo-mo was wearing a matching set. "Thank you God for track pants." I grinned as I walked over to my doorway. "Go cook, I'll be out soon."

"Fine, fine." She shrugged, walking towards the kitchen.

"Hmm, while we're out today we'll need to get the school uniforms… and glasses for me. Even if I don't need them anymore, I miss being able to push them up my nose… And then Mo-Mo'll probably want fingerless gloves or a scarf… or both." I muttered as I walked into the bathroom.

******************

Three solid knocks came on the front door.

"It's unlocked!" I yelled, finally getting caught by Mo-mo, who jumped on my back and knocked me to the ground.

"LET. GO. OF. THE. SCISSORS!" She yelled, as she grabbed my empty hand and pinned it behind my back.

"You were the one telling me I looked like hell!" I whined.

The door swung open and the three girls we were expecting, as well as Yusuke, Kuwabara, Kurama, Hiei, Koray, and Ayame. They stared awkwardly at the scene in front of them.

What they saw was along the lines of Mo-mo straddling my back, leaning over and trying to grab the scissors out of my free hand, while holding the other pinned up against my back. She shifted my captured hand up my back higher.

"Ow! Ow! Ow! Ow! Owww!" I yelled out, as I twisted my body sideways, knocking Mo-Mo off of me.

"Hey guys." She said from her spot on the floor, twirling the scissors around her index and middle fingers.

"When did you…" I muttered, looking at the droopy prop scissors that exploded into a harmless ball of aura. "Why are they here?" I said flatly, pointing at the boys.

"I made Yusuke come to carry the bags! Then Shizuru volunteered Kuwabara, and Kurama offered to help out!" Keiko smiled. "But... I thought you told me it was two girls, Yusuke." She turned to face her friend.

"Hmm? Fai's a-" I threw a ball of water at Yusuke's head before he could finish.

"Don't insult me, detective." I growled. "We can't help that your taste involves men in skirts." The group, excluding Keiko and Yusuke's mother, sweat-dropped awkwardly.

"Yusuke! How could you do that to your friend! I mean, sure he needs a haircut but…" Yusuke's mom attempted to scold.

"Ah… well, maybe we could go out..." I paused as I lunged at Mo-mo in another failed attempt for the scissors, "And get it fixed."

"Idiot." Hiei muttered.

"Neh, why are you here anyways Sparky-chan, Ayame, and Koray?"

"Well, you know why I'm here!" Koray said, giving a bright smile that almost seemed scary.

"He dragged me along…" Ayame muttered, fiddling awkwardly with the edge of the long hood that she wore, clearly to hide the fox ears. The replica of Keiko's dress that was under the loose grey hoodie hid her tail.

I turned to Hiei expectantly. "None of your business." He growled.

"Works for me." I shrugged.

"Yeah, let's get going!" Mo-mo said, tossing the scissors in the direction of the kitchen.

******************

"I still want to know why the shop for the school uniforms was in the mall…" I muttered, as I pulled the sleeve of the magenta uniform out of the one bag I carried. "I can help out more if you want, Yusuke."

I stared at Kuwabara and Yusuke, who had a combination of Shizuru's bags (there wasn't that many), Atsuko's (had a few more than Shizuru, then talked her son into carrying them), and Keiko's bags (there was so many that both boys had to split it, as well as give some to Kurama). Hiei held the bags that held Mo-mo's many art supplies, scarves, fingerless gloves, and over all new clothing.

Mo-mo only held the bag that contained her new uniform, the boy's uniform, which took a lot of arguing and an overall vote of 'Mo-mo should choose, she has to wear it', which finally caused Keiko to back down. Although, Mo-mo wound up leaving with one set of the girl's uniform as well, money provided by Keiko.

"Naw, we're fine Fai." Yusuke grinned from behind the towering mass of bags, no doubt trying to be chivalrous.

I looked down at my pathetic number of bags, and then I shoved my new glasses, that were only frames and glass (not prescription), up the bridge of my nose with my middle and forefinger. Only four bags hung off my arms. One with the school uniform, one with a few pairs of black pants and black martial arts shoes, some long sleeved black shirts, a single navy blue turtle neck, a dark grey zip-up hoodie, and the final bag containing art supplies.

"The question is, are you sure you have enough, Fai-kun?" Keiko smiled at me.

"Ah, I'm good. I really don't change my wardrobe much, just something comfortable and simple and I'm fine, really." I smiled.

"You're hair looks so much better now Yuki!" Kuwabara grinned. "Better than that chopped up excuse you had earlier!"

"If you're going to complain about hairstyles, Kuwabara, I suggest you take the magnifying glass closer to its user first." I smiled.

"Uh…" He muttered, not really knowing how to reply to my cheery insult.

"So Koray, Ayame, where are you going to go after this?" I asked, wondering how cautious I'd have to be for everybody's favourite God-walker.

"Oh, we'll be around." Koray smiled. "I have business, and Ayame wants to keep an eye on Yukina."

"Can I get back into my clothes now…" Ayame muttered, clearly uncomfortable in the foreign clothing.

"But you look so nice Ayame!" Koray grinned.

"Shut up!" She replied.

"Ayame, I was wondering. Do we know you from somewhere? I mean, before the tournament and Yukina's kidnapping. You look like somebody I knew. In fact, you have her name, face, and fighting abilities as well." Kurama asked.

"N-no!" Ayame stuttered, shooting her head up to glare at the red head. "I've never met you before! Ever!"

"Hmm, now that you mention it Kurama, she looks a whole lot like that Ayame that nearly killed us all after that whole incident where Yukina was kidnapped before." Kuwabara said, looking at Ayame from around his tower of bags. Koray chuckled as a much panicked expression appeared on Ayame's face.

"You too, Koray, now that I think of it..." Yusuke muttered.

"Might as well tell them, Ayame." Koray grinned.

"NO!" She yelled.

"Well, the first time you saw me Ayame was straddl-" Koray was cut off as Ayame jumped him, knocking him to the ground and straddling him around the waste as she held him around the neck.

"Don't you say ANYTHING!" She yelled. The boys stared as an epiphany hit them.

"I've been wondering for a while, but now it's confirmed." Kurama smiled awkwardly.

Koray grinned. "You know, I'd like this much better if I was on top."

"What a pervert!" Keiko frowned. "Are they together or something?"

"It's not what it looks like!" Ayame squealed awkwardly, before teleporting Koray and herself away.

"Uh… Okay then…" Keiko sighed. "Well, Mo-mo, Fai-kun, are you ready for school tomorrow?"

"Tomorrow?!" We yelled in sync, practically dropping our bags.

"This is so not fair…" Mo-mo sighed.


	30. Chapter 30

***MO-MO' POV***

I sighed as I looked at myself in the bathroom mirror. I was wearing the navy blue boy's uniform for Sarayashiki School. To be fair, it wasn't much better than the girl's uniform, and looked a bit awkward on me, with my shoulder length girl hair, but it was still better than a skirt. I considered cross-dressing as well, but decided against it. Even if I was tall and had the right attitude for it short hair really looked awful on me.

Fai had left about an hour ago, since she had to bus into the next town over, and since the smart-people school starts earlier than this one. I finished straightening my hair, grabbed my bag, which was stuffed mostly with all my art shit, and opened the door to leave for my first day of school. No sooner did I step outside my door, that I received a blow to the head from someone else's school bag.

"Ow! What the hell?!" I shouted as I rubbed my head where it hurt.

"You know, you could at least follow the rules on the _first day_!" Keiko scolded.

"Give me a break... I already told you that even if you buy me the girl's uniform, I would never wear it in a million years!"

"What's wrong with looking like a girl?!" Keiko demanded.

"I just don't wear skirts! That's all there is to it!" I replied loudly.

"Fine... Get expelled on the first day, for all I care." Keiko said as she flipped her hair and started walking away. Even though I really didn't want to, I followed her.

**********

We met up with Yusuke on the way to school, and, as usual, Keiko scolded him for _still_ wearing the green version of the uniform instead of the required blue. Kuwabara joined up with us as well, and while they talked about what might have possibly been going on between rivalling school gangs while they were gone, Keiko inquired as to what subjects I enjoy. I told her that art was my forte, though I was also good at math and I liked to read, but I wasn't too fond of science or phys. Ed. She seemed pleased that it sounded like I would actually be attending classes, unlike a certain Spirit Detective, and we started talking about books that we recommend for each other.

Finally, we arrived at school. Lots of people gave me awkward looks probably because of a combination of the fact that none of them knew me, and that I was clearly a girl wearing a boy's uniform. Keiko led me to Mr. Takenaka's office where I was informed that I would be in the same class as Keiko, Yusuke and Kuwabara. He handed me a copy of my schedule, then said that Keiko would show me around, since we were already acquainted.

"By the way, Miss Zetsubou..." Mr. Takenaka began. Zetsubou was my new last name. Fai and I had decided upon it the night before. "Why exactly are you not in the proper uniform?"

"W-well...." I started. Mr. Takenaka was too nice... I couldn't just be mean to him... So there was only one thing left to do. "It's kind of embarrassing... You see, I have a really rare, unheard of disease that causes my legs to be deformed... I'd much rather take the awkwardness of being in a boy's uniform over the laughs and insults I would get if people could see what's wrong with me..." I lied as I put on a sad, teary face."

"Of course! I understand completely. I'll have your teachers informed, and for gym, I'll have a set of track pants ordered for you." Mr Takenaka said.

"Thank you so much." I smiled appreciatively, though I could practically feel Keiko's glare stabbing at my back. Much to my surprise, she said nothing to me about it.

We arrived at our homeroom, Japanese language, with Mr. Iwamoto as our teacher. I stood at the front of the class as he introduced me.

"Boys and girls, this is Zetsubou Momoka. She will be one of the new students joining our class today." One of? There are more additions to the class? I wondered. Suddenly the sliding door to the class was opened loudly, and a small boy with spiked black hair and red eyes walked in. "Ahh, here's the other one. _Late_ on his first day... How irresponsible. I hope this behaviour doesn't continue." Iwamoto started to rant as Hiei walked in.

"WOAH! WOAH! WHAT IN HELL'S NAME ARE **YOU** DOING HERE?!" I shouted at the fire demon, attracting the attention of the entire class. I saw Yusuke and Kuwabara fall out of their seats, and Keiko jumped clear out of hers.

My mouth was gaping, and I must have looked like I was in pain as I resisted the urge to shout out some more. I mean, HIEI in SCHOOL??! The two just don't go together... If I didn't know better, I say Hiei looked like he was sick, but then again, going to school is probably the last thing he wants to do. The sickly look clearly resulted from the fact that he was restraining the strong urge to kill someone.

"All of you settle down!" Iwamoto shouted. "Or I'll have to give you detention." Yusuke and Kuwabara quietly got back into their seats, and Keiko restrained her horror of the fact that a _demon_ was now attending classes with her. "Now... This is Sachiko Hiei. Everyone be nice to your new classmates." Hiei, not to mention me, Yusuke, Kuwabara and Keiko, twitched at the last name.

Hiei and I went and took two empty seats in the back of the class behind Yusuke and Kuwabara, who stared awkwardly as our fiery friend walked by. I saw Hiei shoot them the mother of all death glares, and the two quickly turned away and pretended to focus on what Iwamoto was saying.

**********

After an incredibly long four hours of classes, it was lunch time. Without a word, I dragged Hiei as fast as I could to the roof, where Yusuke and Kuwabara were already anxiously waiting.

"What the hell are _you_ doing here, Shrimpy?!" Kuwabara exclaimed.

"SHUT UP! I'm not doing this by choice!" Hiei shouted.

"Then start explaining!" Yusuke and I demanded simultaneously.

"That bastard's the one who did this..." Hiei growled through gritted teeth.

"Who?" The two boys wondered.

Then it clicked for me. "You mean Koray, don't you?" Suddenly, the reason for his appearance at the mall became apparent.

"DON'T SAY HIS NAME!!!" Hiei shouted as the fence on the edge of the room exploded into flames. The mere thought of Koray sent Hiei into a nervous sweat, and he was breathing way too heavily.

"C-chill, man..." Yusuke muttered, though he was seriously afraid of Hiei right now. "I mean, why do you have to do what he says anyway?"

"IT'S NONE OF YOUR BUSINESS!" He screamed as yet another portion of the fence behind us was ignited.

The three of us stared in utter horror. Talking to him would do no good. "Alright... T-then we'll just leave you here, to calm down... Don't forget that we have gym in a half-hour...." I muttered quickly as I pushed Yusuke and Kuwabara back into the school.

"That was scary... I don't think I've ever seen Hiei so angry..." Kuwabara muttered, while slightly shaking.

"Yeah... With any luck he'll get expelled for vandalism..." Yusuke joked, though none of us laughed.

**********

Much to everyone's surprise, Hiei showed up to the rest of our classes. Though, he didn't say anything to us, and we didn't talk to him, for fear of another outburst. Immediately once school was over, and Hiei was out of sight he disappeared.

"Well, that was a weird day..." Kuwabara muttered as we walked home.

"No kidding..." Yusuke replied.

"I hope Hiei's alright. He seemed very angry." Keiko said.

"As much as I'd like to say he'll be fine, I don't think he will. Besides the fact that he's now not only forced to stay in the human world, but go to _school_ as a human... Well... Lets just say it'll be a while before he gets used to it." I explained.

Suddenly we noticed a group of boys in a navy blue uniform that was a different style walk up and block our way.

"If it aint Urameshi... and his pet dog, Kuwabara." One of the ugly guys muttered.

"Who's a dog?!" Kuwabara shouted, as he readied for a fight.

"Let it go, Kuwabara." Yusuke said calmly, going into his cool-mode. "So what do the Kasane _losers_ want with me today?"

One of the boys, obviously the leader, then stepped forward. "You've been gone fer so long, we thought we'd come 'n' welcome you back." He was tall, almost six feet, and wore a white bandanna around his forehead. His face was long, and bony... Almost like Kuwabara's. He had black hair, which I actually enjoyed, because it naturally spiked upwards, though still curved down at the edges and fell just above his dark green eyes.

"Isn't Kasanegafuchi the school on the other side of the river?" I muttered, recalling my experiences with the YYH manga.

"You bet they are." Yusuke muttered. "Though, from the looks of things, they've expanded their turf beyond that point during my absence. We'll just have to fix that, won't we Kuwabara."

"You bet." He said as the two of them cracked their knuckles. "Girls, go on ahead. This won't take more than a few minutes."

Keiko nodded her head and ran off.

"Go on ahead? And miss out on putting people into pain? I don't think so." I said, putting on a sadistic smirk.

The leader of the Kasane boys walked up to me. "Th' hell's this? You're not a guy?" He wondered, looking me in the eye. Then without warning, one of his hands latched on to my breast. "Nope, definitely a girl." He grinned.

Before the loser knew what was coming he was sent flying a good 50 feet back by my fist. His buddies stared in horror, as did Yusuke and Kuwabara.

"_Nobody_ takes advantage of **me**, buddy!" I shouted.

"You bitch!" The other Kasane guys shouted as a group of four of them charged me all at once. They were ridiculously slow, at least compared to what training with Hiei was like. I dodged a punch to my head, blocked a kick to my shoulder, and then turned on the remaining two before they had a chance to strike. I punched one hard in the face, then turned around and got the other one in the ribs. The first two, now distracted by their wounded buddies, both received hard kicks, which sent them flying a good 10 feet into the air. All four of them now lay unconscious on the ground at my feet.

"Compared to demons, these guys are nothing." I grinned at Yusuke and Kuwabara, who had both already beaten down a good six or seven each.

The rest of the Kasane guys trembled with fear, and then ran away, realizing that they had no hope of winning.

"Well, that was relaxing." Yusuke said as we picked up our bags. "Let's keep going, shall we."

As we walked off, I noticed the first guy, with the awesome black hair and crude manners staring at me with a weird sort of awe. If I actually cared about him, I might have put some thought into it, but I didn't give two damns, so I pushed him out of my mind. It's not like I would ever be seeing him again, unless he was stupid enough to pick another fight with me.

* * *

Hey guys, its Teresa again! Just though I'd explain a few things.... Lets start with the new names:

Sachiko Hiei - Koray came up with that one *in the story* and it means "happiness child" (hence why we all twitched...) Cause Koray _would_ torment Hiei like that XD

Zetsubou Momoka - I came across the Momoka part in a japanese name generator (while searching for Hiei's last name) and I though 'hey... Mo-Mo can have an _actual_ name' XD As for Zetsubou, for those of you who don't know, it means "despair".

And just for anyone who's interested, yukisnowchan (aka Faiyuki) has posted "Pain of the Forbidden" which is the fic that the vamps Yuki, Kirane and Akira come from. Its good fun, so go check it out ^^


	31. Chapter 31

I frowned as I walked into yet another dead end.

"Schools this big should be forced to have maps…" I muttered to myself. I turned around and blinked slightly when a short girl walked into me. Her large, round glasses fell to the floor with a **clack **and she stumbled backwards.

"Ah! I'm sorry!" she said with a worried tone. I picked up her glasses and looked through them.

"Gah…" I blinked as the hallway turned fuzzy. "Strong prescription."

"I'm sorry…" She said as she looked down and shuffled her feet.

"You apologize a lot." I said with a smile as I handed back her glasses.

"I'm sorry…" She muttered as a flush spread across her face.

"Well, uh, could you help me out?" I asked, giving a half smile. "I'm kinda lost…" I sighed in frustration at my schedule. "This school's just too big."

"Uh… may I?" She shyly held her hand out.

"Right… You kind of need that." I chuckled, as I handed my time table to her. "Thanks!" I smiled brightly.

"Ah! Your class is right next to mine!" She said, happily. She stood there beaming at my time table and I got progressively more uncomfortable.

"Uh, would you care to show me the way?" I asked. She jumped and practically knocked me over when she gave back my timetable.

"Right! I'm sorry!" She said, bowing a few times.

"Okay?" I smiled awkwardly, wanting to get to class before the bell, preferably. She turned around quickly, running into a wall, then stumbled backwards and quickly wobbled down the hallway in the opposite direction.

"Sorry!!!" She whimpered over her shoulder.

"Ah…" I sighed with a sweat-drop. "I must have been really lost… I walked down this hallway like… five times." I looked at the familiar surroundings. She apparently didn't hear me, because she was just muttering to herself.

_Okay… this girl is kind of weird…_ I thought.

"We're here!" She grinned.

"Thanks a lot!" I smiled. "You're a life saver. I'm Aiyoku Fai by the way."

"Oh, sorry I'm… GAH! I forgot my notebook! I'm going to be laaaate!" She yelled as she turned around and ran in the other direction, almost falling as she slid around the corner.

"A really odd girl…" I sighed.

I turned around and knocked on the door, which flew open in my face. I blinked at the teacher that stood on the other side and I was pulled in just before the bell rang.

"Aiyoku, Fai. Correct?" The teacher asked as he walked over to his desk. I blinked again.

"Where you waiting for me..?" I muttered slightly before adding, "Yes. That's me."

"Great!" He said, knocking his chair to the ground. I blinked slightly.

"Uh… yea…" I said backing away as he got really close to my face. I stepped back, not liking the sudden invasion of my personal bubble.

"YES!" The teacher suddenly shouted, grabbing my chin and roughly turning my head from side to side. "YEEEES!"

"Yes?" I asked.

"YEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEES!!!! YOU WILL BE OUR MODEL!" The teacher exclaimed.

"I will? Am I not supposed to do introductions or something?" I asked, already terrified of my exuberant art teacher.

"They know your name! Any good artist would be able to become conversant with you just from painting you!"

"Oh?" I blinked as the teacher stalked up into my personal bubble again.

"So… Off comes the shirt." The teacher grinned. "If only it weren't against board policies to do the full beauty of the human bo-"

"Sorry, sir, but I cannot do that…" I said, mock sadness playing across my voice.

"Oh, why not! Obey your teachers." The teacher said, giving me a look that implied I was being a very large kill-joy.

_I refuse to be drawn, painted, sculpted, or any of the like… I am way, way too awkward looking to have what, twenty? Twenty five? I dunno… a whole lot of drawings of me. Not to mention I'm screwed as soon as my top's off… now wouldn't that be an awkward moment? Think… think!_

"B-because…" I added a stutter for effect, "I'd feel really bad… If I deprived my fellow students of free flow of creativity… Having them draw me with every detail already in place for them? Where is the fun in that! Instead they should… uh… design an outfit of choice with a model… of… choice?"

"Brilliant! You, Aiyoku-san, are a very intelligent lad!" the teacher cheered, clearly over his diminutive depression. "SO! Who votes who to be our model for today!?"

A loud eruption of 'the new kid!' 'Aiyoku-kun!' and 'ohhh! I wanna draw Fai-kuuun! Soo cuuuuute!!' rang out.

_But… I'm not cute. I don't wanna be drawn…_ I thought near tears.

"Then it's decided!" I was thrown onto a nearby stool and the students came up and tried to struggle on a pose.

"Would it be okay… if I just sat comfortably? I'd feel horrible if I were to move and ruin your amazing art pieces…" I used a shy, scared tone.

_That's right… pull the heart strings…_

The girls immediately agreed that it would be okay, and any boy that tried to object was given a death glare by the female members, the greater proportion, of the class.

_Oh great… please, PLEASE don't make me have to deal with the whole 'cuteness' issues here too…_

******************

Second period was much easier to find, because I had an escort this time, and much to my relief it was math.

"Everybody, please welcome your new classmate, Aiyoku Fai." The elderly teacher said with a clear, calm, and commanding voice.

"Yes sensei." The class echoed, staring curiously at me as I stood awkwardly at the front of the class.

"Hello, I'm Aiyoku Fai. I hope we get along?" The statement came out as more of a question, but after my first impression I was a little nervous.

"Are you okay? You look… pale…" The teacher asked, her tone worried.

"I'm always pale… and I had Hiraku-sensei for first period… I kind of need… a break." I could practically feel myself getting dizzy as I remembered that teacher and his unexplainable personality. "He is a… vibrant… man…" I sighed.

"Vibrant is an understatement." I heard somebody mutter at the back of the room.

"Well… Hiraku-sensei is certainly the pioneer of his methods of teaching, is for sure. And hopefully the last to use them." My teahcer assured me.

"Honoka-sensei…" I blinked at her, as tears started to well up in my eyes. "Finally a sane person."

"Poor child." The math professor sighed. "So I'm assuming you haven't gotten the mandatory tour of the school? Knowing that man, the moment he saw a face like that on a young man he tried to get your clothes off and those poor students drawing."

"Okay, not feeling well again. Bad thoughts, bad thoughts… make him leave me alooooone…." I muttered to myself, remembering the teacher's attempt.

"Okay… Minamino-san? Would you like to give Aiyoku-san the tour?" Honoka-sensei said to my red-haired teammate, now classmate.

"Shuichi! Another sane person!" I grinned as I glomped my current lifeline.

"Hello Fai-san." He said slightly awkwardly as I hung off him.

I blinked. "Yay I got another first name!" I grinned, totally ignoring the class as I had another success moment. Kurama and I turned to face the class when suddenly a loud echo of female voices muttering,

'So cute. So perfect. Shonen Ai.' Stars seemed to float above the female class members, who slowly inched forward towards us.

"S-sensei…" I blinked backing away towards the door. "Can we go for the tour now?"

"You two are excused." Honoka-sensei

I grabbed Kurama's arm and dragged him out of the class room.

"Why do all these girls think I'm so cute? Even before, back home as a **female** everybody thought I was cute." I muttered.

"Then that must mean you're cute?" Kurama suggested. I just crossed my arms.

"Just show me where my other classes are please…"

******************

"Mo-mo…" I whined as I collapsed onto the floor of our apartment. "Mo-Mo save me… they're all… they're all crazy…"

"Nice to see you too. Your turn for dinner." She said, as she opened a bag of chips.

"Gah! And all those girls! Practically forcing their lunches on me! Why do people seem to think I need three meals a day?" I said, sighing as I ran my fingers through my cropped hair.

"Because you do?" She said, and then tossed a chip into her mouth.

"Whatever… I'm going to shower." I muttered, stalking off to my room for a change of clothes.

"But dinner!" Mo-mo whined.

"After shower." I grinned at her. "You'll live, miss endless pit."

She just chuckled and continued with her bag of snacks. "Oh, yeah, I forgot to tell you... something I know you'll find very amusing..."

"Oh?" I muttered, my attention caught. "What is it?"

"Hiei's attending classes with me and the boys." Mo-Mo grinned, as she stuffed her face with more chips.

"WHAT?!" I exclaimed, nearly falling over. "How in the world did that come to be???"

"Koray's doing, apparently. Not that Hiei'll talk about it." Mo-Mo sighed.

"I need to get in on some of his 'torment Hiei' plans..." I grinned.

"But you'll make dinner first?"

"Nice try, but no." I smirked as I went and got ready for a shower.

* * *

Dear Readers, from your Author Yuki.

Hello! Recently we've gotten a really annoying, anger inducing, violence inducing, and just flat out rude comment in the reviews for TNH. We don't mind constructive criticism, in fact we _want_ constructive criticism, but when you flat out flame with an anonymous comment? Seriously people? So anyways, this random person decided that they'd go, read our story and say "/Mary-Sue"…

Now I don't mind the fact that they think its Mary-Sue, that's not it, it's just that they kind of left out the whole matter of _how_..? So here is a little request from me as an author to you as our readers!

If you don't like something please… **_PLEASE_ tell us why! **

Example of a Bad Review: "/Mary-Sue"

Example of Constructive Criticism: "*face-palms* Honey, you seriously need to be a bit more creative. I can understand not wanting to make up MORE characters, but that's why you make them simple enemies, just to show off some skill. I didn't even read the fight scene because I know what these four can do and I was never to thrilled with their abilities. It's a tad bit boring when you see characters that were dead in the series. Kudos to you for the resurrection bit instead of they just lived, but seriously? Plus, WORK ON YOUR GRAMMAR. It's a serious turn off when I'm sitting here correcting you through the whole story XP *sighs* Ok, there's my rant for the night. *shakes head* Good luck with the next chapter..."

Okay, while I'm out spouting random stuff… Thanks so, soooo much to 6Poppy, heve-chan (who read the whole thing in TWO NIGHTS!!! Super thanks to you!), and Angel of Randomosity for sticking with us and commenting with your thoughts on our work! We actually read it all! =D!

Anyways, thanks to everybody who's been keeping up with our story(ies) up until now! Hope you guys enjoy the chapters to come!

-Yuki


	32. Chapter 32

***MO-MO'S POV***

"_Again_, Miss Zetsubou?!" Mr. Iwamoto exclaimed as he towered over me at my desk. "If you continue this ridiculous doodling in my class, I'll have you sent to detention! Now, for the rest of the day, this is mine." He said, taking my sketchbook from my lap.

"Hey, stop!" I cried out. "I need that, you can't just take it!"

"I'm afraid I just did, Miss Zetsubou." Mr. Iwamoto smirked as he placed my pride and joy into his desk drawer.

As much as I wanted to flip out on him, this guy was practically a Satan incarnate. He would make the rest of my school life utter hell if I said anything offensive. So I was forced to let it go for now. I would just have to explain to my art teacher what happened.

**********

Throughout the next couple classes and lunch I was utterly miserable. Not even Hiei's usual demeanour could top what I had going. The boys didn't seem to understand why I was so upset over a drawing book, but they _did_ understand that Iwamoto is a total nutcase. Keiko understood, though it wasn't enough to relieve me of my frustration. If I had my sketchbook, I would just draw some ridiculously violent scenes in order ease my mind, but NO. Iwamoto just HAD to confiscate it.

Much to my surprise, Phys. Ed. managed to calm me down. We were playing volleyball today; my favourite sport. Though, I found that I was playing much better now than I ever had before, which was probably due to the training I received in preparation for the tournament; not to mention the tournament itself. Keiko gave me an excellent pass, and I jumped up into the air, with perfect form, and spiked it down. Even though the blockers had somehow gotten in front of me, there was enough force in my hit to knock them to the floor, and win my team a point.

"That was great Mo-Mo!" Keiko exclaimed giving me a high-five.

"Yeah, Zetsubou-chan, we had no idea you were so talented!" My other classmates complimented. I blushed awkwardly, since I wasn't used to this kind of attention, at least not when it came to sports.

"Miss Zetsubou..." The coach called out.

"Yes?" I replied.

"I admire your skill, however next time you should be more considerate of your classmates!" He said, nodding to the blocker I knocked to the ground with my spike. She was sprawled out on the floor, nearly unconscious.

"Ah..." I froze, unsure of what to say.

"Take a time out, and consider what you've done." The coach commanded as a few other girls helped the hurt one to the nurse's office.

"Y-yes Sir..." I muttered as I went and took a seat on the bench that was against the fence which divided the boys and girls Phys. Ed. classes.

I sighed, and then looked over my shoulder to see what the boys were up to. They were playing basketball. I looked around, but didn't see Yusuke anywhere. Big surprise. Kuwabara was on the sidelines, waiting for his turn to play. And Hiei, much to my amusement, was on the court. One of the boys passed him the ball, and in movements that I doubt they could keep up with, Hiei dribbled the ball all the way across the court, around all the players, and then jumped up and slam dunked the ball. He hung off the basket ring for a moment, and then let himself drop the ground. The looks on everyone's faces were priceless. They had no idea whether to be impressed or scared.

"Mr. Sachiko..." The coach said finally, "There's no doubt that you're skilled, but it _is_ a rule that you can't just take the ball all the way across the court by yourself. You have to involve your teammates. That's why it's called a team sport."

"Who cares? If I can win the game by myself, why should I rely on them?" Hiei said blandly.

The coach sighed. "Why don't you take a time out, and watch how the others play together."

"Hn. Whatever, it's not like I wanted to play..." Hiei muttered as he walked over and sat on a bench that was on the opposite side of the fence from me.

"Hey, Hiei." I greeted.

"What do you want?" He said coldly.

I shrugged. "I just thought it would be polite to say hi."

"Tch." Was the only response he gave.

For a while we just sat there in silence, while the two classes continued on without us. I could tell Hiei really wasn't enjoying school, and I wanted to ask him why Koray was forcing him to this. But I doubted that he would tell me. If anything, it would just make him even angrier. I wanted to comfort him in some way, but its common knowledge that Hiei isn't easily comforted. He always tries to deal with his problems alone.

"Hey..." He said, attracting my attention. "You haven't noticed anything.... strange, have you?"

I paused to think. "No... Why, is something going on?" Generally these kinds of questions lead to some world-threatening disaster, so I was pretty concerned.

"I'm surprised you haven't noticed... Your senses should be well above average now." He smirked slightly.

"What haven't I noticed?" I asked curiously.

"Someone's following you." He said simply.

"What??!" I said, taken aback. "It's not that vampire again, is it?!" I muttered, becoming slightly terrified.

"Oh, no." Hiei said with a chuckle. "Believe me; if either of those two dared get anywhere near here, I'd torture them."

"That's... reassuring." I said with a sweatdrop.

"You don't need to be so worried. He's a just a harmless human." Hiei explained.

"Oh? So you've seen him?" I wondered.

"Yeah, he's been at it for a few days now. He usually hides not too far from the school gate, then follows you all the way to your apartment, and then goes home." Hiei said.

"Wait, this guy knows where I live?!" I muttered, falling into paranoia.

"Like I said, he's just a human. Even if he _does_ try anything, you're more than able to protect yourself." Hiei said calmly.

"But sti~ll...." I whined. What would Faiyuki do if she found out about this...? Probably drop an atomic bomb on Japan. "I gotta do something about him... Okay, Hiei! Today after school, come with me and once we ditch the others let's face this bastard!"

"What?!" Hiei exclaimed. "Why do I have to go?"

"Cause you know what he looks like!" I stated, though it seemed obvious to me.

Hiei sighed in submission. "Fine. It's not like I have anything better to do."

"YAY!" I smiled.

**********

Needless to say, I was restless throughout the rest of my classes while I waited for the school day to end. Once it was over, Hiei and I left with Yusuke, Keiko and Kuwabara. I couldn't help but look over my shoulder every five seconds to see if I could see this stalker. At first I saw nothing, but I got a nod from Hiei that said he was there. Keiko wondered why I was acting so strange, but I just brushed her off. Finally, they three of them left for their own houses, and Hiei and I could get down to business.

"Alright! Come out, whoever you are!" I called out.

"Don't make us have to drag you out by force." Hiei threatened.

After a moment's pause, a tall boy came out of an alleyway not too far away. He was wearing a navy blue school uniform that was slightly different from ours, wore a white bandanna and... Wait... Why am I having déjà vu? Sure this guy had awesome hair, but...

Then it hit me. "No way..." I sighed as the leader of the gang I beat up on my first day of school was standing before us.

"You know him?" Hiei wondered.

"I beat him up on the first day of school. He's a Kasane student." I explained. I couldn't decide whether to be relieved or more afraid.

"Please, Momoka-sama... My name is Hayate Daichi." He replied softly.

"What did he call you?!" Hiei shouted as I blushed from the awkwardness.

"L-look here..." I started, wanting to tell him to never use that honorific with me ever again, but he began to approach me, and I lost my train of thought. He took my hands into his own, and looked me in the eye. But before he could say anything, Hiei kicked him away.

"You've got some nerve, stupid human! Trying to act sweet after stalking her like some pedophile!" Hiei shouted.

"Yeah, now start explaining! Why have you been following me?!" I demanded, as both Hiei and I cracked our knuckles to intimidate him.

"Please wait, Momoka-sama. I don't mean you any harm. I'll explain everything from the start." Daichi stuttered. "It all began shortly after you beat me and my boys. At first, I was embarrassed to have lost to a girl, but as I saw you taking out the other members of my gang I was entranced. And for the next day I couldn't get you out of my head! I had to see you again! So I waited outside your school, and followed you home... And it was then that I realized it..." He looked at me intensely with sparkling eyes. "I LOVE YOU."

"Ack..." Hiei and I sweatdropped as we started, nearly repulsed by this guy.

"C-come on, why would you be in love with _her_?" Hiei said, though immediately after, he had his head crushed by my elbow.

Suddenly, Daichi appeared at my feet in a position that could have been mistaken for begging. "Oh, I could on forever about how wonderful you are, Momoka-sama! You're hair, a natural mix of red and brown, your sparkling blue eyes, your tall, perfectly sized body... And how you wear the boy's uniform and kick ass even though you're a girl... I've never met anyone like you!"

Hiei and I just stared in awe, unsure of what to say. This was extremely awkward... I mean, I've got absolutely no feelings for this guy! I completely forgot about him, and the only reason I knew who he was - which is also his only redeeming quality - was because of his hair, for Christ's sake!

I sighed. "Look, I've got absolutely no interest in you, so just leave me alone, okay?"

"What... but... but..." Daichi looked up at me with puppy-dog eyes.

Hiei grabbed the poor kid by the neck, and looked him harshly in the eye. "You heard her! She said leave her be!" Hiei shouted as he tossed the boy, who landed a few feet away. "Let's go." He started to walk off and I followed.

I took in a deep breath, and then let it out in one big sigh. "Not fun..." I muttered. Hiei said nothing and simply stared forward with intense eyes.

**********

After a about a 15 minute walk, we finally came to my apartment building. I doubted that Hiei was going to come in with me, so I turned to him and said,

"Well, thanks for helping me out today."

"Whatever." He said as he turned away. "Just be careful around that guy, okay? You never know what people like that will do."

"Sure thing." I smiled. It was nice to see Hiei showing concern. Without a word in response, he disappeared.

I proceeded to go inside, where Faiyuki was waiting for me.

"You're awfully late today..." She said curiously.

"Meh. I just felt like taking my time." I said casually.

"Oh? Then what were you doing with Sparkey-chan?" She eyed me suspiciously.

I twitched. "Definitely not what you're thinking I might have done..."

She smiled. "And what am I thinking?"

"Never mind." I rolled my eyes. "Dinner ready?"

"Only when you're ready to talk." She grinned sadistically. In a fast movement, I created three knives out of my aura and threw them at her, each hitting the wall about a millimetre away from her head.

"You were saying?" I smiled.

"Fiiiiiine... It's in the kitchen waiting for you." She gave in.

"Thank you." I said as my aura knives disappeared.


	33. Chapter 33

***AIYOKU FAIYUKI'S POV***

I sighed with boredom. Nothing particularly interesting had been going on over the past couple of days. Although I usually enjoy school, today I found it a bit exhausting. Kurama, however, didn't seem to mind. He comes to school every day with a calm demeanour, fully completed homework, and then participates in every class. It's actually really awkward and annoying to be in class with him. I mean, he's even nerdier than I am! Well, in any case, I picked at my lunch as I sat isolated in class. Kurama had left to receive a phone call not too long ago. It was probably from his little brother or something.

Suddenly Kurama walked into the classroom as if he was in a hurry. "Fai-san, we have to leave now." He said in a low voice.

"What? But it's the middle of school..." I stared at him curiously.

"Never mind, let's go." He said as he grabbed my arm and dragged me away. At least he wasn't carrying me.

**********

"LEAVE ME ALONE!" I screamed, kicking away the doctor that tried to restrain me.

"Aw, come on Fai…" Yusuke sighed. "It isn't that bad."

"Some guy I don't know is shoving a sharp metal object into my arm-"

"Neck." The doctor interrupted, giving me a dirty look.

"Okay, neck, because that is _so _much better!" I hissed sarcastically. "Oh, and the best part; He puts some homemade chemical compound into my body to induce some change I either a) don't need or b) should be able to do on my own, through natural methods. _Sorry_ I'm not so enthralled by the idea!"

"Coward." Hiei smirked.

"I don't see** you **volunteering, Sparkey-chan!" I snapped.

"But Kurama's doing it." Kuwabara pointed out.

"I'm not Kurama, now am I?!" I glared, then twitched, then stormed out of the room.

"Come on Yuki." Mo-mo said as she jogged up behind me. "Koenma already explained that the only thing this drug will do is maintain your demon aspect longer without wasting your energy. There aren't any side effects or anything, as far as we know."

"That's not helping." I growled.

"Well at least you and Kurama get to go out on a mission! The rest of us are stuck back here with absolutely nothing to do." Mo-mo sighed.

"Whatever, it's still just a waste of my weekend…" I sighed. "I would just kill for something to drink right now!"

"HERE!" Botan said, appearing in front of me.

"Hello…" I blinked at the bubblegum blue haired girl. "You want what?"

"You can have my tea!" She said, practically skipping.

"O…kay…" I blinked at her hyper demeanour. I brought the cup up to my lips, but thought otherwise when I saw Botan staring with a hopeful expression. I frowned slightly and then quickly pulled her into a neck-lock. "Age over beauty, Botan." I smiled as I forced the warm liquid down her throat. Within seconds she was unconscious on the ground, after falling from my arms. "Yeah, yeah, right…" I muttered, and then suddenly a quick, hard force hit me in the lower skull. I staggered forward as the room began to twist around me.

"I've wanted to do that for a while." I practically heard Hiei's smirk.

"Hiei..." Mo-mo sweatdropped just before I passed out, collapsing to the ground.

**********

"The mission is quite simple, really." Koenma explained. "Once every one hundred years there is a gathering of high-status black market and underworld lords, as well as some of the most powerful and reputable demons in Makai. This time it is being hosted by a demon named Hideyoshi. We will give you more details when you're ready to leave. You're mission is to infiltrate this meeting, and report to me what plans these big-shots might have for future disturbances. It saves me the trouble of having to send in spies that have to constantly stay hidden."

"So remind me again why _I_ have to be _his_ slave!?" I yelled in utter irritation, as I rubbed the sore spot on my neck."You know there is a whole **slew** of other things I could think of that don't involve me calling him _master_." I said, pointing at Yoko accusingly. My feline ears that once again sat on the top of my head were twitching in agitation.

"Because Yoko wouldn't have a mate, and it would be of his race most likely if he _did_, and because Yoko wouldn't take somebody like you as a partner, and because it's the only role that allows you two to search the entire place." Koenma said in a slightly condescending tone.

I blinked at him. "Koenma… Expect a sudden, painful, and excruciating near death experience when I get back." I crossed my arms and turned to leave.

"You need to change!" Botan yelled, rushing after me. "You're not dressed like a female attendant!"

"Just say slave…" I muttered. "It makes me feel worse when you sugar coat it like that…" I sighed in defeat. "Whatever, but nothing pink." I followed Botan out of the room.

**********

"I still can't believe I'm stuck in a kimono…" I muttered. "And on top of that, I lose my name because it's too _recognizable_ because of that stupid tournament!"

"Your new name is fine." Yoko said, probably just to get me to shut up.

"Yamashita Asuka… bleh… I like my name better." I muttered. Yoko just shrugged. "So, where is this place, anyways?"

"Just over the lake. We'll take a boat over." Yoko stated matter-of-factly.

"I see…" I sighed, giving up on conversation.

**********

"Welcome, everybody, to my humble abode!" A demon wearing a regal looking outfit said as he stood at the head of the hall. He must have been the man called Hideyoshi, who was running this whole party. In his hands was a large, shining stone.

"You see that stone?" I heard a guy at the table next to me whisper. "I heard it was the Philosopher's Stone."

"You're kidding me…" His partner muttered.

"Now!" Hideyoshi grinned. It was kind of creepy looking. "Please allow my waitresses to give you whatever food or drink you could possibly desire!"

A swarm of women, all in identical uniforms, began to mingle around the tables. Murmurs of "how can I help you?" and "What would you like?" erupted as the women struggled with the many orders.

"What would you like?" A smaller woman said to Yoko, as she handed him the list of drinks on the menu.

"I'll just have that." Yoko said, indifferently, as he gestured at something on the menu.

"And you, hun?" The woman asked me in a sweet voice.

"Ah…" I said, forcing a flush onto my face. "I'm fine… I wouldn't want to trouble you…"

"She'll have chocolate milk, and chocolate chip cookies." A familiar voice said from behind me.

"Uh… uhm… Hi." I said as I lifted a twitchy smile to none other than Sharivar.

"Hello Aiyoku Faiyuki." He said in a mock happy voice.

"I'm not sure _who_ you're talking about." I said in a cheery voice. "My name is Yamashita Asuka."

"Is that what you're calling yourself? Well, names are irrelevant. My master would like to speak with you." Sharivar growled. I smiled innocently.

"I have a duty to my ma-AHH! Hey! Put me down!" I wailed while Yoko just gave me a bemused expression as I was hauled up onto Sharivar's shoulder. "Please, please put me down sir!" I whined as I kicked my legs slightly.

"You should have just come along. But think of this as revenge for ruining my little reunion with Koray." Sharivar spat.

"I still don't know what you're talking about!" I objected.

"So this is the girl?" I heard a very arrogant voice ask from behind me. I was dropped to the floor, where I landed on my butt then whiplashed backwards, smashing my head off somebody's knee.

"Oww…" I whimpered, tearing up slightly as I brought both hands to cover the bump forming on the back of my head. "Ow, ow, owww…"

"Sharivar… this better not be a waste of my time." The haughty voice growled. I leaned my head back to look at the owner of the voice.

He had reddish-brown hair that hit his shoulders, and cold crimson eyes. His well-off clothing showed he was a person of significance, and the inferior look he gave me threw me into a pout with small tears forming at the sides of my eyes from the lump.

"I'm sorry sir… it seems I'm not so good with backwards landings…" I stood up, then turned around and bowed deeply; I am a 'slave' after all.

"Whatever." The man said, as he inspected me.

"Uhm… would it be too much trouble to ask your name, sir?" I said, still bowing slightly.

"Kyo-sama to you, and that's all you need to know." He smirked at me. "Unless you prefer Kyo-dono."

"Uhm… I think 'sama' is fine… Kyo-sama." I said bowing. "But I really should be getting back to Yoko-dono. I shouldn't be gone for too long." I turned to leave, when a strong hand clasp around the knot on the back of my obi, holding me in place.

I sent an awkward smile back to Kyo who had a sadistically bemused expression on his face.

"Now, I expect that I won't have to deal with you, or your master, interfering with anything that happens here… just keep to yourself. Do you understand?" Kyo asked, using a condescending tone.

"Please let me go." I said, with a shy tone to my voice.

"I asked you a question." Kyo glared.

"Please let me go." I stated, more firmly this time.

"I'd like to see you make me, little cat." My feet slid against the ground as Kyo pulled me back towards him.

"No. You wouldn't." I said as a flash of sadism tinted my eyes as my shy smile turned into a cruel smirk. The flash of an emotional flip was enough for Kyo's grip to loosen on the sash just long enough for me to escape his grip.

Kyo glared as the innocent smile once again dressed my lips.

"You'll regret that." Kyo growled.

"It was a pleasure meeting you, Kyo-**san**." I smiled. "It was _definitely_ a pleasure meeting you." I bowed quickly then turned around and walked over to my table, a slight skip in my step.

"What did he want?" Yoko asked, as he slid a tall glass of chocolate milk and a plate of cookies in my direction.

"Nothing really." I smiled as I took a big bite out of a cookie so I could fit it into the glass. Yoko just raised an eyebrow at me over the rim of the red drink that he sipped casually from. "I really hope that's wine…" I muttered, more to myself than him as I took another bite out of the sweet pastry.

"Well isn't it the Great Yoko Kurama?" The same voice who pointed out the philosopher's stone earlier today said.

"Yes, the infamous thief who disappeared a few years ago." The man's partner said.

"Who are you?" I asked, innocently staring up at the two men.

"I'm Arata." The man who spoke first said. "And my partner here is Hayato. And you are?" He said raising a questioning eyebrow at me. I once again forced a flush up onto my face.

"My name is Yamashita Asuka. It's a pleasure to meet you." I went to bow but Yoko stopped me.

"Don't bow to scum like that." Yoko growled at the two men.

"You can't still be angry at us for leaving all those years ago, Yoko." Hayato sighed. "Your ways were just to 'fair' for us. I swear, you were the only thief in existence that had a code of honour."

"Were?" Yoko questioned in a superior tone. "What do you mean?"

"Well there's this rumour going around…" Arata smirked. "That you got your ass kicked and wound up in a human's body. So of course, that would mean you're nothing special anymore."

"Rumours are just rumours!" I piped in, using a childish voice."Yoko-dono could still steal anything he wanted to!" Hayato crouched down slightly so he was at eye-to-eye level with me, who had sat down onto my chair again.

"You're too loyal to him." Hayato smiled. "Why not come with us, we could give you anything you've ever wanted."

"Nope!" I smiled and shook my head. "I like working under Yoko-dono! He's really honourable, for a thief."

"I still don't think you've got the right idea about him." Hayato said, standing up.

"How about we put your words to the test then, Asuka-chan?" Arata smiled at me, and then looked at Yoko. "If you can steal a very high class jewel, of our choice, then we'll drop out of the business."

"What?!" Hayato objected.

"Trust me." Arata grinned at his companion. "But if you lose, then we get your little 24 hour service doll."

"Me?" I blinked, and Arata nodded his head slightly. "I'm okay with that!" I smiled. "I trust Yoko-dono! But only if he wants to."

"What would I be stealing?" Yoko asked, curious about the challenge.

"Hideyoshi's philosopher's stone." Arata smirked.

"Heh. Easy." Yoko smirked back.

"Then it's a deal. I look forward to the results." And with that the two men left the dining hall, probably to go to their rooms.

"And once again I'm a trophy… great." I sighed. "You better not lose."

"What happened to 'trusting Yoko-dono'?" He smirked down at me.

"I was just playing the part. Let's go to our room now? I'm tired…" I sighed. Yoko nodded, and we collected our key and left.


	34. Chapter 34

***MO-MO'S POV***

_I can't believe this..._ I sighed as I sat on my couch trying to watch some TV. _It's the long weekend, and I'm stuck here all alone while Faiyuki goes on mission!_ If she'd been here with me while the others went away, I wouldn't have minded so much. But in this situation, I was at a complete loss! There's absolutely nothing on TV, I don't feel like hanging out with Yusuke or Kuwabara, I _really_ don't want to listen to Keiko nag me about our homework, Hiei's impossible to find when he's not at school, and Kurama got sent away on the mission too!

"Dammit!" I shouted out of frustration, as I jumped up, knocking several chip bags onto the floor in the process. "Might as well go for a walk..." I mumbled as I got dressed in real clothes, rather than the pyjamas I had been wearing all day.

Much to my satisfaction, it was a clear, sunny day. However, much to my dissatisfaction, I immediately felt the presence of someone following me. I peeked over my shoulder and just barely saw a figure jump behind a garbage can. I debated throwing a blast of aura at the bastard, but it was probably that Daichi kid from Kasane again, and I knew I couldn't be so careless with my powers. So instead, I called out, in a very angry tone:

"Hey, Daichi! If that's you, come out now!"

"As you wish, Momoka-sama!" He shot up, almost startling me.

I sighed as I walked up to him. "Look, if you and I are going to engage in any form of verbal communication, you call me **Mo-mo**! No more of that ridiculous honorific, GOT IT?"

"Yes, anything you say!" He stated with a slight blush. I hoped he wasn't assuming that because I told him to drop the honorific that I was warming up to him... Oh wait, this is Japan... Of course he was. "Um... Are you hungry... Mo-mo?" He struggled with my nickname.

"Kinda." I said without thinking.

"Then allow me to buy you something!" He said as he took my hand and started leading me away.

"Hey wait..." I stuttered, really not wanting to go anywhere with him. Then again, he was going to spend money to get me food... I couldn't really complain about that...

**********

"Is it good, Mo-mo?" Daichi questioned as we sat at a small table in an ice-cream store.

"Yeah, it's delicious." I said as I devoured the bowl of vanilla ice-cream that was covered in warm chocolate sauce and topped with sprinkles. "Thanks for buying it for me." Politeness never hurt.

"Not at all." He said with a heavy blush. God, this must be what Yukina goes through whenever she's around Kuwabara. "Um... May I ask you a question?" He said, slightly uncomfortably.

"Shoot." I replied simply.

"That kid who was with you the other day... With the black, spiky hair..." He stuttered.

"You mean Hiei. What about him?" I said, though I was still focusing on my ice-cream.

"What's your relationship with him?" Daichi asked firmly.

I nearly choked on a mouthful of ice-cream. "WHAT?!" I shouted, extremely taken aback.

"He seemed to be very protective of you... I was just wondering if the two of you were dating." Daichi said politely.

I stopped to think. Of course he would ask something like that. I mean, he doesn't know anything about me, so he has to make sure I'm not already taken before he starts trying to get into a relationship with me. Wait... Now there's an idea... Hiei will kill me, but at the very least, it should get rid of this guy.

"Yeah, Hiei and I are dating." I said carelessly. Before Daichi could respond, we heard an explosion coming from outside. We peered out the window to see the building across the road completely on fire. Wait... That couldn't have been...

_"WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING???!"_ Hiei's voice resounded in my head.

"AHHHHHHH!" I screamed, since I was totally unprepared for the very LOUD invasion of my mind.

"Mo-Mo, are you okay?!" Daichi demanded.

"I-I-I-I-I-I... I HAVE TO GO TO THE BATHROOM!" I shouted as I stormed off into the girls bathroom, then escaped outside through a small window. "Hiei!" I shouted. "Come on, let's just talk about this!"

Suddenly he appeared in front of me, and grabbed onto my clothing near the neck, causing me to hunch over. "There's nothing to talk about! Get back in there, and take back what you said!"

"But if I tell him that we're dating, he'll leave me alone!" I defended.

"Who cares??! There is no way I'm letting people think that I'm dating someone!" Hiei screamed in my face.

Then before either of us could continue, the ground below us disappeared and we found ourselves falling. _This feels familiar..._ I thought to myself, as we saw light below us. Both me and Hiei, flipped over to land on our feet, and much to my surprise it was a success this time.

"Hey, there Hiei!" Koray smiled with a wave. "And... Mo-mo?" He said, slightly confused.

"What, you were expecting Hiei, but not me?" I asked curiously.

"Well, yeah." He said with a chuckle. "I mean, I set things up so that you would've had to be in physical contact with him to be dragged along... So I'm sorry if I interrupted something." Koray smirked.

"GO TO HELL!" Hiei and I shouted in unison. The fire demon simply laughed at us.

"So, what do you want with me _now_?" Hiei asked, clearly irritated.

Koray smiled "Well, I figured that since you're off school due to the long weekend I-"

"That reminds me!" I burst out, interrupting Koray. The two stared curiously. "How did you manage to get Hiei to go to school? Come on, everyone's dying to know!"

Koray hesitated for a second, and then smiled. "Sure, might as well fill you in."

"NO! It's none of her business!" Hiei shouted, but his father ignored him.

"You see, most people would expect that I'd just threaten him, since I'm obviously much stronger than he is, but that's not exactly the case." He explained.

"Well, yeah. Hiei's your son, you're not gonna hurt him for no good reason." I said.

"Exactly." Koray smiled. "You see, I'd like to play the father role for at least one of my kids. Yukina's not allowed to know I'm her father, otherwise that would give Hiei away. So I told Hiei that he has to let me actually be his father, otherwise I'm going to reveal myself to Yukina. And since I'm more powerful than him, he can't stop me, and was forced to agree with my terms. So I enrolled him in a school, like any good father would. And if he slacks off, or skips regularly, then his little secret gets revealed. After all, I _benefit_ from Yukina knowing the truth."

"That's harsh..." I muttered, feeling really sorry for Hiei. Fai would find this hilarious. "But anyway, you gonna explain what you want with Hiei right now?"

"Yes, as I was saying... Since you have a long weekend, I figured I'd take Hiei on a little father-son bonding trip." Koray smiled, anticipating Hiei's reaction.

"Screw that! You got me into school, now be satisfied!" Hiei shouted as he turned away.

"What if it we were going to steal a rare and valuable treasure?" Koray smirked.

Hiei paused for a moment. "What kind of treasure?"

"Oh... Just a little something called the Philosopher's Stone. Maybe you've heard of it?" Koray said casually in order to provoke Hiei.

Hiei spun around and looked Koray in the eye with a furious expression. "Don't take me for a fool! If the Philosopher's Stone could be tracked down so easily I'd have stolen it a long time ago!"

"Oh, I have no doubt it would be difficult for someone like you, who uses his sword and not his head, to find. However, I have my source. And I know exactly where it's going to be for the next couple of days." Koray boasted.

"What kind of 'source' is this?" Hiei demanded.

"It's none of your business." Koray said as he reached into his pocket and pulled out a package of cigarettes. He stuck one in his mouth, and lit it. "Though... I did hear that Ayame got hired to guard it." Koray said as he breathed smoke into Hiei's face. Hiei coughed, and then backed away.

"Won't that make things more difficult?" I asked.

"Hardly. If anything, it makes the situation more interesting." Koray smiled.

Hiei sighed. "Well, I suppose this is better than spending time in that boring human city. And the Philosopher's Stone is a prize I can't allow you to keep all to yourself." He turned to me. "If you want to be taken home, I'm sure it can be arranged."

"No way! I was bored out of my mind back there. I'm definitely coming along." I smirked.

"Whatever you say." Hiei sighed. "Alright mister 'I-use-my-head', what's the plan?"

"Well, first I think we'll need a change of clothes..." Koray looked at me, who was just wearing a pair of jeans, and a black sweater with red designs. It wasn't exactly ideal for thieving.

**********

"Um..." I sweatdropped as the two men looked me over. My outfit consisted of platform boots that nearly went up to my knees, netted tights, gloves that were also net that went up just past my elbow, and a jacket that was short-sleeved, flared at the bottom and had a Chinese style neck. It was completely black, and the jacket had a faint, dark purple design. My hair had been tied up in a pony-tail, and a thick ribbon wrapped around my head like a hair-band. In short; I was an older, darker version of Cardcaptor Sakura.

"Perfect." Koray grinned with a slight blush.

"I thought we were stealing treasure, not going to a masquerade." Hiei scoffed, as he turned away from me awkwardly.

Koray laughed. "Of course we are, but first we have to infiltrate their lair, and gather as much information about who's there, and what the guard system is."

"Okay, that makes sense..." I muttered. "I'm a little scared to ask, but what will my role in this be?"

"You're my woman." Koray said simply.

"GAH!!!" Hiei and I exclaimed as we crashed to the floor.

"You're kidding..." I whined.

"Nope." Koray replied. "This is a rare gathering of black market and underworld lords, not to mention anyone powerful enough to have an influence. It's actually quite common for anyone attending to bring servants, attendants, and even love interests."

"Then why not just make me a servant or attendant?" I begged.

"Because it's more fun this way." Koray grinned.

I nearly cried. Between Koray and Daichi, I was considering getting myself killed again... Though, for some reason I couldn't shake the feeling that this whole situation seemed a bit familiar.

**********

"So who's running this whole gathering?" Hiei asked Koray as we approached a large building that resembled a hotel. Apparently it was where the Philosopher's Stone would be.

"A demon by the name of Hideyoshi." Koray replied. For some reason that name seemed familiar. "Ah, we're just about there. Come on, Mo-mo, take my arm." He said playfully.

I frowned, and then reluctantly latched onto him. I don't think I've ever felt so awkward in my entire life. And on top of that, people were going to see me like this! My face flushed red from embarrassment as we arrived at the entrance for the hotel. Men in uniform bowed, and greeted us as they opened the door to let us in.

Koray led us down a few hallways, and then into a large dining hall where many people were already seated and being served by waitresses in identical uniforms. We took a seat at an empty table and waited for someone to serve us. I looked around, but couldn't see anyone I recognized from where we were. After a while a group of about three men approached us.

"Well, well. If it isn't Koray." One of them said loudly. "You've got some guts, showing up here!"

Koray smirked as he put out the cigarette he'd been smoking the entire time. "What? Because the Black Knights have placed a bounty on my head? Don't be foolish. If there's anyone here who thinks he can defeat me in a fight, then bring him forward now." Koray gave them a menacing glare.

The three men quivered. "W-whatever..." They turned their attention to me. "Who's the cutie pie?" They grinned like perverts.

"She's mine, and that's all scum like you deserve to know." Koray replied as he pulled me onto his lap and wrapped one of his arms around me.

"Didn't figure you'd be into such an innocent child." The men commented rudely. As much I would have liked to shout something offensive, the embarrassment had me immobilized.

"Well that just goes to show how little you know about me." Koray smirked. Then men stalked off, as it was clear they weren't even able to best Koray in a battle of words.

"Um... Can I get off of you now?" I asked awkwardly.

"What, are you uncomfortable?" Koray said with an amused expression. But before I could reply, Koray's expression became unusually serious as he stared intensely at something. I followed his gaze to another man who was staring back. He was a good halfway across the ridiculously large room, and from where we were seated I could make out that he had reddish-brown hair that went down to his shoulders and wore well-off robes.

"Who is that?" Hiei asked, speaking for the first time since we arrived.

"Kyo..." Koray muttered. We looked over, and noticed Kyo stand up and begin to approach us. Within seconds he was standing at our table, looking down on us with a condescending expression.

"I see your taste in women is questionable as usual." He said, giving me a dirty look. I replied with a harsh glare. Koray said nothing, and continued to stare intensely. Kyo's eyes widened as he turned his gaze to Hiei, who was clearly of relation to Koray.

"That's Hiei. My son." Koray said firmly.

"I see." Kyo said as he continued to look at Hiei with a disgusted expression. "So he's the kid you had with that ice whore."

Hiei's expression turned to rage, at the unexpected mention of his mother. I could feel Koray trembling, and his body became warmer as he struggled against the urge to kill Kyo then and there. Then, without warning, Sharivar came up and placed a hand on Kyo's shoulder.

"Let's leave them be, for now." Sharivar advised. "I'm sure there will be a better time to go around picking fights." He shot Koray a challenging look.

Kyo sent Koray a glare and sighed. "First an annoying cat and now Koray shows up... I doubt I'll be enjoying my stay here." And with that he walked off with Sharivar.

"Hold on... By cat did he mean..." Hiei and I speculated out loud. Then it hit us. Fai and Yoko were already here on their mission.

* * *

Hey guys, Teresa here. First of all I figure I should apologize for bombarding you guys with two chapters in one day... Fanfiction wasn't letting me submit anything yesterday, so I had no choice XD

Now, there's something I should explain to you, since I'm not sure whether or not we're going to get into detail about this in the story. Kyo and Koray's (obviously bad) relationship. Basically, you have to understand two things: 1. Koray is an outcast of the fire demons because he fell in love with an outsider (Hiei's mom, Hina) 2. Kyo is the ruler over the fire demons, and it is against the law for fire demons to mate with outsiders. Now..... The way things work out is that while Koray was learning how to use black magic, there was an accident and he got sent to the Ice World through a portal. There, he met Hina who was unhappy with her life there. The two fall in love _yidda yidda yadda_ and then Kyo manages to find Koray, and realizes what's going on. Kyo then arrests Koray, and puts him though unimaginable torture for many years (hence Koray's scarrs and the fact that he doesn't feel pain anymore). Through some miracle, Koray was able to escape from Kyo's prison, and since then has made minimal (if any) contact with the fire demons.

So yeah. I hope that made things a bit clearer for you guys. Enjoy TNH ^^ 


	35. Chapter 35

***AIYOKU FAIYUKI'S POV***

"So _why_ am I changing roles again?" I asked, an annoyed look plastered on my face.

"Because, the dance is couples only and the philosopher's stone is there." Yoko said, as if it was the most obvious fact in the world.

"SO YOU'RE TAKING ME AS A TEMPORARAL MATE?!" I hissed loudly, but making sure nobody could hear.

"There is already an announcement set up for dinner tonight." Yoko said, a bemused smirk playing across his lips. "Is there something wrong with that?"

"I dunno, maybe the whole feline plus canine thing equalling no-no?" I sighed. "Great, now I have to act all cutie lovey…"

"And you have to go to a dance classes this afternoon." Yoko said, as he walked into the _new_ suite. As soon as Hideyoshi had heard of Yoko's 'engagement' a new, larger suite was ordered.

"I call the couch." I muttered.

"What are you talking about? That would look suspicious if somebody, like room service, were to walk in. No, if you're playing the role of my mate, you'll play it so there is **no** chance of screwing up the mission." Yoko sighed, as if **he** were annoyed by the fact. "So we use beds."

"I only see one bed." I said, as I blinked curiously. Yoko took one look at my ignorant expression and started laughing, as if it was the funniest thing in the world. "What..?" I asked, and then repeated myself with a whimper. "Whaaat?"

"We'll be _sharing_ the one bed, Asuka."

"WHOAWAITWHAAAT!?!" I objected. "No, no, nooooohohohoo. Just no."

"You can't object." Yoko said. "Frankly, you have no choice in the matter. I've already reported to Koenma, and he agrees that if its couples only, then you're now my mate." Yoko finalized.

"Oh…" I twitched. "That toddler has a death wish."

"That may be so." Yoko said before disappearing inside the large suite.

"Well this is going to be an interesting stay…" I muttered before closing the door behind me. "Hey!? Is there a balcony?!" I shouted.

"Yes, this way." Yoko said, appearing in front of me and leading me towards the back of the suite.

"Ahh!" I said, grinning like a child that was just given candy. I slid open the glass door and stood up on the balcony.

The flimsy railing wasn't much, although the detail work was pretty, but the view was amazing. A large lake stretched out to the mountains that weren't too far away.

"It's so pretty!" I exclaimed, before looking down over the railing. "We're on what, the 13th floor?" I asked, and Yoko nodded. "Hmm… about 12 feet for every floor, so that's about… three, two… six…three, one, add it together… around 156 feet up." I smiled brightly. "I wonder how much it would hurt to fall from here…" Yoko blinked at my morbid question, clearly not expecting it in the happy tone I asked. "Hmm… If you were to land on your head it'd probably kill you, shatter up to your pelvis if you were to try and land on your feet… and if you landed on your back your lungs would probably be crushed from the force of gravity, or you spine broken… Hmm…"

"That's a rather odd question…" Yoko muttered. "I'm going out somewhere. You should shower and get ready for bed."

"Mhmm…" I sighed, sitting up against the wall of the building as I spaced out, looking out over the scenery. Yoko chuckled slightly, probably just for show in case somebody else with prying ears was out on their balconies as well.

I heard Yoko close the front door, and then blinked as suddenly there were two other people on the balcony with me.

"Hello Kyo-Kyon, Shi-chan." I smiled up at the two men who glared down at me from their standing positions.

"Stupid cat. You let your bodyguard leave." Kyo smirked, as if he was winning in a game or something.

"What body guard? Why would I even want one? You two aren't worth my ti-Oop!" I slid down the wall to avoid a very angry foot that would have smashed my head.

"What happened to not hitting girls?" I smiled, and then slid over the railing, knocking it off as I blocked another blow from Kyo's foot. I continued to smile up at them as they glared down at me.

"Shut up, wench." Shiravar growled. "Your life is in our hands, so I suggest you do as you're…"

I looked around, hanging from the side of the cement balcony by only one hand. "Ah… really pretty view." I mused, mainly to piss them off. And to buy time.

"HEY!" Shiravar yelled. "Pay attention to me wretch!"

"Why should I? God, you guys are no were near as fun as Koray." I muttered, suddenly Kyo picked me up, threw me into the wall, and before I could even regain my breath his hand was around my throat, blocking my airway.

"How do you know Koray?" Kyo glared. I just smiled as my face went from red to an offish blue, not really being able to respond to the question with no air. "I ASKED YOU A QUESTION BITCH!" I continued to smile as the world started to fade in to darkness, as I almost passed out.

Just before everything went black I was dropped to the ground, I took a deep inhale of breath, and panted slightly, but remembered to keep that ever annoying smile up.

"Answer the question." Kyo's voice was cold, and I looked up to him. In his hand was a whip and I swear it was practically on fire.

_Ohhh… looks like that'll hurt…_

A slight trickle of sweat ran down the side of my face as I tried to figure out an escape route.

"156 feet…" I muttered, knocking the idea of jumping as an escape route out of my head, Shiravar was blocking the door, and Kyo was well beyond losing his patience.

"ANSWER THE GODDAMNED QUESTION!!!" Kyo shouted, kicking me back into a wall.

_Nobodies out, and I doubt anybody would help me out anyways…_

"Koray and I are pretty close." I smiled. _It's all in the wording… gotta waste time…_ "Yes we're really close, shared an experience so breathtaking it would blow your mind!" I smiled, as Kyo's glare darkened. "It was amazing, and sure it hurt **a lot** but it was _sooo_ much fun when you get past the pain, you know?" I smiled as I referenced to my fight with him in the tournament. _Not that Kyo knew what I was talking about… _"It surprised me how good he was, I mean I **knew** he'd be really good, but it was beyond words!"

"I'LL KILL YOU! YOU LITTLE WH-" I smiled up at Kyo as he raised his whip, ready to strike me, when suddenly a sharp green, thorny, whip knocked it out of the way.

"I'll have to ask…" Yoko's piercing golden eyes glared out of the darkness inside the suite. "That you stay away from my mate." The rose whip cracked again and Kyo and Shiravar glared, before jumping into a vortex that once again appeared out of thin air.

"We'll get you, little cat." Shiravar glared.

"And your little dog too!" I called out as they disappeared.

"I wouldn't say it's wise to anger them like that." Yoko said, as he sighed down at me. I grinned proudly like a small child.

"Made sure I wasn't hit where it'd show." I grinned.

"What?" Yoko asked, clearly confused.

"Well, it'd be shameful to you to have a mate that gets the crap beaten out of her, right?" I smiled up at Yoko, and then held my hand out hoping he'd help me up. "So I made sure I wasn't hit on the face, legs, or hands! Although that one spot on my arm from the block I pulled may bruise slightly." I muttered, clearly disappointed. Once again Yoko stared at me, and then broke out in laughter.

"You are the oddest woman I think I have ever spoken with." He said, as the laughter died down into a chuckle.

"Whaat?!" I objected, and then pouted. "Whatever… Just help me up so I can go shower then get dressed." Yoko grasped my hand, pulling me to my feet, and I stumbled slightly as my shaking legs didn't want to support me. "Damn… those two are scary." I smiled awkwardly.

"Just go shower." Yoko said, back to the cold demeanour of before.

"Yesser." I said, mock saluting as I wandered into the suite and found the bathroom. "Yea… My arm is definitely gunna bruise…" I sighed, as I pulled my shirt off, revealing already bruising skin. I did a quick check. "Hmm… the one on my stomach, and my back… then the arm too…" I sighed, "Great… I'm gunna be sore for a while…"

******************

Breakfast the next day was horrible. The mixture of random people I don't know coming up to hug me and congratulate me, and all the swarms and glares from other girls, made me decide that I will NEVER get married if it involves all this attention.

And then the dance lessons were just as horrible. The lady who was teaching me was this really old lady who really, _really_ liked to smack us with a flyswatter when we messed up the dance steps. I felt really bad for one of the girls there… she was a bug demon. Although I could sense an oddly familiar presence, I couldn't nail who and where it was coming from.

Preparing for the dance was just as bad. A few of the women who were mates of old partners of Yoko's **insisted **on taking care of my outfit, make-up, and the works. They wouldn't stop complaining on how short my hair was. And when I say insisting, I really mean they pull out this woman/mom/teacher voice thing that scares even the toughest demon… Yoko was lucky, he got to sit back and talk with his old partners as these random older women I don't know poked and prodded and undressed and redressed me until I was 'satisfactory'. Then they kept trying to 'reassure' me.

"Oh it's not so bad having a thief for a mate." A woman named Nanali reassured.

"We need to get together sometime and do this again! Isn't she just the perfect little doll? She doesn't move an inch!" A loud woman named Siyona exclaimed with excitement.

And oh, my personal favourite, because it resulted in me falling off the chair and ruining whatever crap they were trying to put on my face.

"Oh! What are you going to name the first set of kits!?" Another woman named Aya asked.

Not only was it a total waste of my time, they wound up deciding that makeup wasn't me, so I got re-re-undressed and thrown into a tub to get all this gunk off my face, which resulted in them having to do the hair again…

It wasn't until after around two hours of utter **torture** that I was finally released and put on display in front of the group of men.

"Well, how'd we do?" Nanali asked as her mate whistled.

"You did it again, turned a little girly boy into a pretty girl…" Another one of the guys muttered. I flushed, half with embarrassment from the insults, half from the embarrassment on the complements.

"Well, what do you think, Yoko?" Aya asked. He just shrugged, but the woman giggled as we all noticed his refusal to make eye contact.

Siyona smiled as she walked over to Yoko playfully. "Aww, come on…" She smiled a puppy-dog smile. "We did a good job, or is it not to your expectations?" Yoko didn't say anything, still refusing to make eye contact with anybody, when I decided I was going to reward myself for all the torture I had just suffered for him.

"Yoko-dono…" I said, a kitty-smile playing across my lips as a slight purr could be heard. "Am I not pretty enough?" I walked up to him, mocking shyness. I slowly twisted back and forth with my hands clenched behind my back, playing with the hem of the baby blue Kimono that was fitted perfectly to me. _Thank god these women managed to hem it without killing me, or the dress. _ I smiled to myself. "Or maybe… You just don't care?" _Hehe… cornered. He was the one whining about fitting the role, but where's his little 'role' now?_ I opened my eyes wide, looking over my lashes as my eyes watered slightly. "You won't say anything?" I whimpered, then gasped slightly in honest surprise, as Yoko caught my playful expression, then returned it with interest, grabbing me and pulling me onto his lap.

"You're gorgeous." He said, placing a gentle kiss on my cheek. My face went strawberry red. _So did not see that backfiring… Note to self, be careful with the games and this fox._


	36. Chapter 36

Hey, it's Teresa! I just wanted to warn my wonderful readers of some explicit content in this chapter... I'll just apologize before hand (even though it was worst before I edited...) I was in a really sadomasochistic mood when I was writing this, and it started out as just a bit of sexual harassment, then went... further... then I edited and tried to censor... XD

So yeah, enjoy ^^

* * *

***MO-MO'S POV***

"Ahhh..." I sighed as Hiei, Koray and I walked out of the dining hall and headed towards our rooms. "That was a good meal." I smiled.

"I can honestly say that I've never seen a human _or_ demon eat as much as you..." Koray sweatdropped.

"Heh, your right." Hiei smirked. "It's a wonder she's not fat."

"Good food..." I muttered, ignoring them. "So how big is my room, anyway?" I asked.

"Well, we got one of the big suites, so it should be a decent size, to say the least." Koray explained.

"Wait, _we_?" I said, puzzled. "I didn't think the three of us were sharing a room."

Koray grinned playfully at me. "No, silly, the three of us aren't sharing a room. Just you and me."

"WHAT??? But..." I tried to protest, but then I remembered what my role in this was. I was Koray's _woman_. Of course we would be sharing a room. I swear if that bastard does anything to me while I'm sleeping, I'm gonna...

"Don't worry; I'll be gentle with you." Koray smirked as he wrapped his arm around me. I punched him hard, causing him to fall back towards Hiei, who also gave him a good knock, sending him back onto his feet in perfect balance. "That was fun." He smiled widely, amused at our violent attempts to intimidate him. Hiei and I growled as we continued on.

"I take it you already have a plan for tomorrow?" Hiei asked his father.

"Of course." Koray smirked. "Hideyoshi is hosting a dance tomorrow evening, where the Philosopher's Stone will be on display, though guarded heavily. However, the dance is couples only, so you'll have to find some way to entertain yourself while Mo-mo and I are there."

"Hmph. I see now." Hiei muttered. Koray and I stared at him curiously. "You knew about this dance from the start, which is why you took Mo-mo as your woman beforehand. It was to insure that we would have a chance at the Philosopher's Stone."

Koray grinned slyly. "It would be foolish to enter something like this unprepared."

After a few more minutes, we arrived at the two rooms that had been prepared for us. Hiei reluctantly entered his own, while Koray led me into ours. It really was a large room with a king-size bed, a balcony, nice drapery, and many framed pieces of art. In the next room over, there was a huge plasma TV and a comfortable-looking couch. Koray closed the door behind me as I walked in, removed my boots and gloves, and stared with awe at the nice suite.

"Now that we're alone..." Koray muttered. "How about we get back to business."

"E-excuse me?" I stuttered, not really grasping what he was going on about.

"Don't play dumb." He said as he approached me. Feeling rather uncomfortable, I backed away from him as much as I could, until I was against the wall. "You say some strange things about me all the time... Things a simple human girl shouldn't know. Now you'll tell me everything. I'll use force, if necessary, and there's no one here to save you this time."

_Shit!_ I thought to myself. _I should have figured that he'd use the opportunity to bring this up. _"Uh... Look, just so we're clear I'm not working for anyone, like the Black Knights and what-not. Everything I know is just stuff I hear in rumours. You're pretty well-known you know."

"Nice try. But my reputation exists within the underworld, and the black market. I doubt if you're the innocent girl you say you are that you would have connections to those kinds of people." Koray said, as he moved dangerously close to me, leaning on the wall in such a way that I was pinned there. "It's time we heard some truth. Now, I'm not a bully, so I'll give you one more chance to redeem yourself before I resort to force."

Great... One more chance to tell a believable lie. This sucks! There isn't anything left to tell him, other than the truth. Even then, what kind of idiot would believe me if I told them that I was just a normal teenager who writes fanfictions, and that one day after I died, my OCs started appearing in reality, and that he was one of them?! I am so screwed.

"No answer? That's too bad." Koray said. "I dislike picking on those who are so obviously weaker than me, but I have no choice."

I quivered, and put on a pathetic facial expression, in hopes of making him pity me, but I knew he wouldn't. Koray started running a hand down my waist, and then onto my ass. I let out a gasp at the unexpected action. By _force_ I had assumed he meant torture! But then, I guess this kind of force could be labelled as torture after a certain point. He then pushed me hard against the wall and started caressing my breasts.

That was about the most I could take. I kneed up into his groin as hard as I possibly could, but he didn't react in the slightest. I just realized then how infuriating his inability to feel pain was. I seriously considered re-writing his character then and there!

"You _still_ don't feel like talking? How unfortunate. You'd better hurry. I'd hate to be the one to spoil a pretty virgin like you." Koray smiled, as he started to undo my shirt.

As much as I wanted to ask him how he knew about my virginity, my mind was a jumble. I needed a lie, I needed to tell him something that would make him get his hands off me, but I couldn't think of anything! And on top of that, I was on the verge of getting raped!!! Fuck... I almost wished that I _was_ working for the Black Knights, because then I would at least have something to tell him!

"Okay! Okay! The truth is that I was just bored one day and wrote a story about Hiei's father - that would be you - and then after I died, and was brought back to life by Spirit World, here you are! I don't even know how that came to be!!" I shouted out in panic.

Koray stared at me for a minute and then started laughing hysterically. "That has to be the most pathetic excuse of a lie I've ever heard!" I whimpered. God, I gave him what he wants, but now he doesn't believe me!

Koray then completely removed my shirt and started running his hands over my now bare skin. His hands were warm, and, dare I say it, felt kinda good. But I jumped back to my senses and punched him hard in the face, for lack of insults to shout out. He hardly moved. It was like hitting a bloody statue! He looked at me with a bemused expression on his face, and then brought my body right against his as he started kissing my neck.

"Please stop..." I begged, having nothing more to do. "I'll tell you everything when this mission is over... I promise!"

"I don't think so..." Koray said in a soft, almost hypnotizing voice. He then undid my skirt, allowing it to fall to my feet, and then pulled down the netted tights I had been wearing. I let myself fall to the floor as he completely removed them, leaving me in just my bra and underwear. As much I wanted to struggle, it would do no good, other than continue to amuse him. After all, Koray was **much** stronger than me, and didn't feel pain on top of that.

Koray then knelt on top of me and pulled my face into a kiss. I struggled with tears forming in eyes to get out of it, but it was no use. He held me in place, and forced his tongue into my mouth while caressing my body with his other hand. Sort of as a last ditch effort, I bit down on his tongue. Much to my surprise, he winced and pulled away.

"How cute..." He muttered with a smirk. "I'll have to be more careful."

Suddenly the door burst in. Koray pulled away from me, and readied for a fight. As I tried to regain some sort of calm, I looked over to see Hiei standing in the doorway. His face was twisted with a rage worst than anything I had ever seen.

Koray gave a nervous smirk, and then pulled out a cigarette. "What's the matter Hiei? Are you having trouble sleeping?" Koray stuck the cigarette in his mouth, but just as he went to light it, the end was cut off by seemingly invisible force.

"You fucking monster..." Hiei muttered through gritted teeth. "I WON'T LET YOU LIVE TO REGRET WHAT YOU'VE DONE!" Hiei's fist became surrounded with a purple-black flame, and he shot it at Koray, who couldn't completely dodge due to the lack of space in the room.

"Hiei..." I muttered with relief as he walked over to me and tossed his cloak on top of me.

"Use this to cover up for now." He said, keeping an eye out for Koray, now that the smoke from the explosion was starting to clear away.

"Thank you so much!" I exclaimed, as I got onto my knees and hugged him around the waist. He cringed awkwardly, but didn't push me away since I was now full-out crying.

Then Koray re-appeared, with many burns all over his body, and stared at us curiously. Hiei sent him a death glare, and he sighed. "Whatever... I guess I'm done for now." He turned and started walking to the large hole in the wall where the balcony used to be. "Tell the people in the mansion whatever you want." He then jumped outside and disappeared.

Hiei stared out after him for a while. He was clearly debating going after the bastard and giving him what he deserves, but he looked down and me and then sighed. "You should get some clothes on... And then, if you want, I can get you something good to eat?" He said bashfully.

I smiled. "Yeah... That would be great."

**********

Hiei and I sat, alone in the empty dining room while I devoured a large tub of chocolate ice-cream. Earlier, a few guests and some of Hideyoshi's guards rushed over to the room Hiei blew up, wondering what had happened. Hiei told them that there had been an intruder after his father, and Koray was off hunting him down. They seemed to buy it, especially considering how many of them were probably after Koray's life as well.

"Feeling better?" Hiei asked, as I neared completion of the ice-cream.

I nodded as I wiped chocolate off my face and said, "What do you think we should do now? That is, are you still interested in the Philosopher's Stone?"

Hiei paused for a moment. Of course he was still interested in it. But he seemed to be debating whether or not it would be a good idea to stick around, considering that Koray would most likely come back eventually. "Whatever you want." He said simply.

Wow... My opinion actually matters to him. "The way I see it, is that we start going after the Stone ourselves, while pretending to be dependent on Koray. As long as we don't have to engage him in a fight, we should be able to steal it ourselves, which would be a sort of vengeance against him."

Hiei smirked, clearly pleased by my answer. "Fine. Then it would be best for you to attend the dance, since we know that the Philosopher's Stone is there. I can cause some trouble on the outside, and during the commotion, you aim for the stone. I'll come and help you out, if possible."

"Yeah, considering Ayame's supposed to be guarding it..." I muttered, having flashbacks of my fight with her in the tournament.

**********

In the morning, Koray returned as expected. He seemed to be back to his usual self, but then it was probably all just an act. Though come to think of it, his usual self is just an act as well... In any case, Hiei and I were still sticking around him, but we gave him the cold shoulder and silent treatment all day. He tried apologizing several times, but neither of us would hear it. Both Hiei and I were getting close to killing him, but lucky for Koray we were distracted by an unexpected announcement.

Yoko Kurama would be taking his servant Yamashita Asuka as his mate.

"Waiiiiit, that's Fai, isn't it??!" I double checked, just to be sure.

"Heh heh... Yes... Yes, it is." Hiei sweatdropped. It seems he couldn't decide between being amused or shocked.

"I heard the two of them will be attending the dance tonight." Koray inferred. "So that means... What... W-what's wrong...?" He quivered at the death glare we sent him. Reluctantly, Koray turned himself away, leaving Hiei and I to talk by ourselves.

"I wonder if this sudden proposal has anything to with the Stone... After all, the dance _is_ couples only." Hiei muttered.

"Probably... I mean Yoko's a bandit, just like you. I'm sure once he saw it, he couldn't resist a little side-tracking." I said.

"Heh... Even if he is after the Stone, it'll still be mine. I refuse to lose to the likes of him!" Hiei muttered, more to himself than me. At least he was excited about something other than purging Koray into the depths of hell.

"Um... Can I say something...? Please?" Koray muttered quietly. We sent him another glare, but said nothing. Our expressions told him that he would have one last chance to speak before we rip out his vocal chords. "Look, what I did before... It's just an effective form of interrogation. When I was with the Black Knights we would do it all the time." Hiei and I glared harder. "Come on... I don't get any kicks from stuff like that, because I have no feeling in my body... I swear, most of what I did was just reflex -"

"SHUT UP ALREADY!" Hiei shouted. "First of all, even if you're telling the truth about these so-called 'reflexes', you should have better control over yourself! Second, whether or not I like it, you're my father, so your actions affect me as well! I have an honour code to uphold, and if you go around sexually harassing women to get information, then it reflects poorly on me! And finally, we came here as a team. Even though I don't like you, I was willing to set my own feelings aside in order to accomplish the goal. You've just jeopardized our teamwork, and betrayed our trust. What you did is unforgivable!"

For a moment we all just stared in silence at each other. That was some speech! As much as I wanted to tell Koray off as well, I didn't want to spoil Hiei's awesome moment of triumph over his father. Besides, what Koray was saying before was true. Sometimes he just can't help but act on reflex. Not that I wasn't still furious with him...

Koray smiled. "I see. Then I guess there's no redeeming myself. I'll not longer consider myself part of the mission anymore. But as the Philosopher's Stone will be at the dance, I'll escort Mo-mo inside, as an apology, if that's alright with you two."

I nodded. "Yeah, that works for me."

And with that, the rest of the day was spent finding a suitable dress for me, and getting my hair into a style that I found acceptable. I refused to take any dress that wasn't a gown or, at the very least, long (I can't stand short dresses!) and I absolutely denied curls in my hair (don't like the look of it). Koray was already dressed in a black tux that fit him perfectly. In the end, a long, strapless black dress was the choice for me. I had matching gloves, and wore flats on my feet since dancing in heels would be nearly impossible. And my hair was up in a nice bun, but still let most of my long bangs hang down around my face, which was decorated with minimal make-up.

Both Hiei and Koray stared awkwardly at the sight of me. I looked considerably different since I never wear any make-up or even any dressy clothing. Their stares caused me to blush.

Without a word, Koray took my hand, and led me off to the dance.


	37. Chapter 37

***AIYOKU FAIYUKI'S POV***

"So, you're ready?" Yoko asked. Even he was dressed up slightly nicer than normal, wearing an awkward looking suit. "This is difficult to move in…" He growled.

"You made me dress up so you have to dress up too!" I said, pointing accusingly.

"You're my woman; you're supposed to look nice." Yoko sighed. "It was more convenient when men just had to wear a clean yakuta."

"Whatever…" I sighed. "Can I bring a toy?"

"You're going to be dancing." Yoko sighed in annoyance. "That's why we had you in the lessons."

"_You_ had me in the lessons." I pouted, pulling at the crimson red kimono that clung to me. "And I will dance, but not all night." I frowned at the wooden geta, kimono shoes, which I was wearing. "These will be difficult to dance in."

"Did you not practice in them?" Yoko asked.

"Yeah, so?" I muttered

"Do what you want." Yoko sighed.

"Yay!" I smiled brightly, honestly pleased. "Thank you so much!" I ran up and hugged Yoko like a small child who was got what she wanted for her birthday.

"Just one, and only something small." Yoko said awkwardly.

"Can I bring this one?" I held out a pencil shaped object. "Chinese Yo-yo!" I tilted it downwards and a long stream of paper slid towards the ground. I tilted it back up and the paper re-rolled itself into its original spot.

"Do whatever you want." Yoko looked away.

"Yoko-dono…" I smiled mischievously. "Are you bluuuuushing?"

"No." He said flatly. "And you don't use 'dono' anymore, you're my mate now." My face flushed awkwardly.

"Why, why, whyyyy…" I whined. "I don't wanna…"

"Well you're going to." Yoko said, as he grabbed my arm and pulled me along behind him.

"Ow, ow, ow, owww!" I whined as I was dragged along. "Fine, fine! I'll be good!" He paused and let me catch up.

"So you know how we're going to do this?" Yoko asked quietly.

"Yup." I smiled, also speaking quietly.

"Good." Yoko grabbed my hand and smiled coolly at the doorman.

"Welcome." The doorman blushed awkwardly as I smiled at him then hugged Yoko's arm.

"Thank you." I said in a quiet tone.

"N-n-no problem!" He stuttered, before waving us in.

"You shouldn't tease them like that." Yoko smirked.

"But it's so much fun!" I giggled, getting into character.

The hall was extravagant with sparkling chandeliers and balconies, a large set of stairs that led up to the balconies and was carpeted with crimson material. The floor was hard and smooth, and the clack from my wooden shoes echoed off the still relatively empty hall.

"Not many of the guests are here yet." I smiled. "Only the band and a few other people."

"What are they doing here?" Yoko muttered, clearly annoyed by something.

"Who?" I asked, as I turned to face where Yoko was looking. Suddenly he caught my arm.

"Let's go this way." He muttered with a frown on his face.

"Okay?" I asked, as he dragged me behind him, not allowing me to turn and face whoever was annoying him. Suddenly I heard my name called out in a familiar voice. "Mo-mo?" I asked, and I went to turn around again but was suddenly pulled into a twirl.

"Show me how much you learned in your classes. I wouldn't want you to embarrass me." Yoko smirked.

"Wah?" I stumbled slightly, not expecting the sudden movement. "What are you hiding?" I muttered.

"Just do as I say." Yoko sighed, and pulled me into another tight spin. I followed the steps that I had learned in class, but couldn't shake the feeling that Yoko was keeping me from something. The song ended and I pulled away in a pout.

"There are a lot of people here now…" I frowned. "I can't see who called me."

"Nobody called you." Yoko said, smiling at me. "Let's go to our table now. I think you can dance well enough."

"But… but!" I sighed in contempt. "Fine, whatever you say…"

The next hour and a half was really boring. A long speech said by Mr. High-and-Mighty host guy, and then food. They didn't even have milk... Lots of alcohol, but no milk. Oh, and lots of that suspicious red liquid I seem to see everywhere. I sat and played with my yoyo, mainly. A few of the women went fan girl crazy over how 'cute' I am, and how I'll love having slaves instead of being one, and pretty much everything that Nanali, Siyona, and Aya had told me the previous night before the _last_ dinner, where I was announced as Yoko's 'official mate'.

Things got a little heated when the dancing started.

I found out what Yoko had been trying to hide from me, my two _favourite_ people in the _whole wide world_ were there, Koray and Kyo. Mo-mo was with Koray and she looked, well, scarred... And really pissed off. You can't forget that one. Mo-mo had found some way to dance with Koray without touching him. Like, they were touching, but it really didn't look like it. More like levitating over the other's body.

Suddenly a vicious urge to kill Koray erupted from some corner of my messed up mind. This was authentic _**blood thirst**_, and I had absolutely no idea why. The only thing I knew was that I had to kill Koray in a very vicious, violent, and somehow painful way. I don't give a damn if he doesn't feel pain. I will _make_ him feel pain.

Yoko managed to somewhat gracefully haul me onto the dance floor and I mindlessly formulated a plan to somehow get Koray alone then put my hand through his throat, pulling it up through that scheming, underhanded, disgusting, tricky, stupid head until…

I was pulled out of my own schemes when somebody grabbed my hand, not very gently I'll add, from around Yoko's neck and pulled me into a spin.

I blinked up at Kyo.

"What do you want?" I asked blankly. He'd interrupted my scheming, it was an unwanted annoyance. "I don't want to toy with you right now." He scowled at my wording as we leaned backwards into an arc, following the simplistic steps to the dance.

"Unfortunately for you, _I_ am bored and would like to toy with _you_." Kyo smirked.

"Sounds like a personal problem; you should go get some professional help for that." I smiled; maybe I'd have just _a little_ fun with him. He glared at me and I felt some very sharp claws push slightly into the skin on my back, where his hands were clasped.

"Watch your mouth, wretch." He growled fiercely.

"Oh, temper, temper… something else you should get checked out." I smiled. Before Kyo could tear me to shreds, which I'm pretty sure he was about to do, I was saved by another dance partner.

Too bad this particular person was about to need saving.

"My, my! What a coincidence!" Koray smiled.

"You know, I recently had a very vicious urge to implode every atom of water in your body into a very small ball in your stomach, and then push it out very quickly. I'm sure you'd blow up like a balloon." I smiled, and then added, "Before popping."

"Awwww," Koray mocked offence. "Why so mean?"

"Because Mo-mo is clearly pissed off about something, and that involves you." I inhaled deeply, recognising a very familiar sent, yay cat senses, and my eyes narrowed. "On top of that, you reek of her. She doesn't smell bad, but it's almost like you took her sent and _rubbed it all over you_." I hissed the last part maliciously, getting even more suspicious when a single beat of sweat dripped down the side of his face. It clearly didn't escape him that I noticed.

"Look, I'm sure it's not what you think Fai…" Koray said, smiling nervously.

"Asuka. And what do I think, Koray?" I smiled, allowing some of my malicious intent to seep into my face and words. "Do I think that you violated her when there was nobody there to protect her? Do I think that you hurt her? Do I think that you maybe _scarred her?!_"I whispered, infuriated. Another bead of sweat slid down the side of his face.

I sent Mo-mo a worried glance. She was dancing with Kyo, and whomever Kyo had started off with was now with Yoko. They seemed just as tense as my current partner. I saw no visible damage, but there were amazing things a person could withstand under a threat.

"Hey, look, uhm, Asuka." Koray gave me a sheepish smile in return to my glare. "It wasn't quite like that. I mean I only got a little carried away before Hiei showed up…" Koray stiffened, realizing he had just made a very fatal mistake. Suddenly everybody froze, some of the people near me literally.

"_You only __**what**__?_" I asked. My voice seemed to echo off the now silent halls.

"I... Uhm…" Koray stepped back as ice slid under his feet and covered the entire floor and the walls of the halls, sliding up onto the ceilings and covering the chandeliers that I had been admiring only two hours before.

"_**I ASKED YOU A QUESTION!**__"_ I yelled, fury taking control of everything.

"Hey, woman! Settle down!" I glowered down on Hideyoshi, who flinched away from my harsh glare. I could see some of the beautiful tiles that had been around me dissolving into smaller bits and float around in my currently explosive aura.

"**ROT IN HELL!**" I screamed at him, before he exploded like a firework. Just like a crimson red firework.

Gasps were heard all around as chaos erupted. I turned and glared at Koray. He, at least, had a serious expression on for once.

"**I will kill you.**" I stated, as if it was an obvious fact. "**I WILL FUCKING SEND YOU TO HELL AND BACK AGAIN YOU SON OF A BITCH! THEN I'LL MAKE YOU WISH YOU WERE BACK IN FUCKING HELL!**"

"I've already been to hell." Koray grinned cockily, as he sent a glare over my shoulder. Probably at Kyo, who was most likely sitting back enjoying the show.

"**I don't give a damn where you **_**think**_** you've been. That place will seem like**_** heaven**_** when I'm done with you, fucking bastard.**" I hissed. I heard some people scream as the floor began to tremor and shake under the force of my aura.

_I'm not strong. I'm just so pissed off that I'll fight with anything._ I thought to myself, _I need to kill him while I still can. I WILL kill him while I still can!_

"Well, I'm sure I'll be able to give you credit for trying, but-" Koray ducked, just avoiding my claws which were where his head used to be. "When did you get so fa-" But in a fury of movement I kicked him hard in the stomach, sending him flying backwards into a table.

"**One of us is going to die here, Koray. I'll make sure with everything that I've got that it's you.**" I stated. My voice sounded empty, even to me, and instead of me being down there fighting, it was almost like I had retreated behind some film in my mind. When Koray shot out with a punch that sent me flying I barely felt it, I didn't even flinch. I noticed burns on his hand, and realised right now this aura was going to be my best defence.

The floor gave out, some of it sinking into the ground, some of it rising, until the once smooth floor resembled the insides of a large, ancient cave. People screamed and were either crushed between stone, or dropped into oblivion.

"My, my, Fai." Koray said, not bothering to use my alias anymore. "It's not like the 'you' I've come to observe to bring in innocent bystanders."

"**They don't matter. I don't care about them.**" I said flatly and uncaring. "**All that matters is you, dead.**"

"That is a very harsh thing for you to say." Koray said, a bemused expression crossing his face, and then added using a mock-fatherly voice. "I'm proud of you."

"**SHUT UP! SHUT UP! **_**SHUT UP!!!**_" I screamed. I lunched forward at him, in an attempt to claw his face off, but he just dodged.

"You missed…" Koray gasped and blinked in shock as blood shot out of a shallow cut on his cheek. "But _how_?" Koray gasped, as I pulled my hand back and lunged into a rapid stream of thrusts and cuts. He managed to dodge major blows, only getting nicked. When I went to punch, I feinted, disappearing and reappearing behind him, putting my hand through his stomach. He gasped in more shock then pain, as I pulled back, blood soaking my already red kimono. I came around in a round-house kick to his wounded stomach, but he caught my leg and glared at me. I glared back and my hands shot out. He ducked, in order to dodge a thrust, but predicted wrong. My hands slapped down hard over his ears in a flat, solid motion. He stepped back, gasping in actual pain, as he yelled out and pulled his now ringing head into his lap.

A stream of curses erupted from Koray as he gasped out in excruciating pain.

"WHAT THE HELL DID YOU DO TO ME?!" He screamed.

"**Tch. It's really disappointing that the **_**great Koray**_**'s weakness is the few senses he has left, and a little water. It's painful to have a cup of water shot into your head through your ear canals, isn't it Koray? Especially under the condition of you being a **_**fire demon**_**.**" I smirked, as I stepped towards his trembling form. He almost looked like a small child. A dying small child. Who was just a little too big. "**Koray, look at me.**" I grabbed his chin and forced him too. "**I SAID LOOK AT ME!**" He flinched as the sound was intensified by the vibrating liquid in his head. "**Good. Good boy. Now you know what that water up in your head is going to do? I don't know what the hell it's going to do in terms of it being the element that you are especially weak to, but I do know that it's going to put pressure on your brain. Lots of it. No room up there for that extra water, ya see. So you're going to get some hellish headaches and eventually die, unless you screw a few holes in your skull and let it drain out. But you gotta be careful of the brain. That's a very fragile important organ.**" Suddenly Koray gasped in agony as I thrust my palm into his nose, sending some more water up into his pulsing skull.

"ARGAHHHHHHHHHHHH!" Koray screamed out, as he started clawing at his head in a desperate attempt to release the enflaming liquid from his head.

"**Pathetic.**" I frowned. "**That was nothing like before. What happened to you? Did violating my best friend take away all that fight you had before at the tournament? Then I'll just end this!**" I yelled out in rage.

"STOP!" A female voice screamed. The voice was familiar, kind of. "Don't touch him!" We all turned back to see a figure sprinting through the smoke and haze. I blinked as the figure disappeared, and then spun around as it reappeared behind me, in front of Koray. A very horrified looking Ayame was standing in front of Koray, no defences up at all, with her arms spread out protectively. Her eyes were just brimming over in tears. "I won't let you hurt Koray!"

"**I don't remember making you capable of loving anybody besides Yukina…**" I muttered, before my energy flared again to life. "**It doesn't matter! Screw off! I'm killing that son of a fucking bitch! He attacked Mo-mo! I WON'T ALLOW HIM TO BE FORGIVEN!**"

"I'll stop you!" Ayame shouted. I paused.

"**I don't remember making you so loud either…**" I sighed, and then continued. "**I'll just have to get rid of you, too!**"

"I don't think so." My eyes widened in shock as a sharp blow hit me in the lower skull.

"**What the… hell…**" I muttered before falling to the ground, totally paralyzed and my energy cut off. "Dammit! What did you do to me!?" I tried to move, but I could only twitch my fingers.

"Frankly, Koray is_ my _play thing. I won't allow you to kill him." Kyo smirked, pleased with his handiwork. "Now, either you get the sloshing water out of my toy's head, or I incinerate your precious 'Mo-mo'." I hissed in agitation. I may not have been able to _see_ if Mo-mo was in immediate danger, but I knew Kyo was well beyond putting her there. I sighed in recognition, and literal steam was released from Koray's ears, mouth, nose… anywhere that the liquid vapour could find a release. Koray collapsed, and I could hear Ayame's worried speech as she, in an almost panic-stricken way, tried to wake her partner up.

"Why?" I struggled, as Kyo bent down and stared me dead in the eyes.

"Why, you ask? Because you were feeding off your _life's energy_ at that point; it would have killed you to do anything more." Kyo shrugged, and then sent me a condescending smirk. "It would be a shame for you to die, now that I know how much you are capable of. How _valuable_ you might be." The edges of my vision began to fade in to black and out to white in a pulsing motion. I off-headedly wondered which it would stop on when I passed out. "You should expect to see me again sometime in the near future, Aiyoku Faiyuki."

"Damn it…" I muttered. "I'm not your… toy…"

I wound up fading out to white and I just drifted into nothingness. Not unconsciousness, per-se, but unaware of what was going on outside my mind. So I just floated.

"I wonder…" I asked aloud, only to hear a slight echo. "Is this 'death'? If it is, it's really boring compared to what I thought it would be."

"You're not dead." An oddly familiar voice teased in a childish voice from behind me, "Or maybe you are. But you don't look all that dead." I turned around abruptly and faced a terrifyingly familiar figure.

I turned around and stared into the eyes of myself.


	38. Chapter 38

***MO-MO'S POV***

I frowned as Sharivar held a sword to my throat.

"Either get the sloshing water out of my toy's head, or I incinerate your precious 'Mo-mo'." Kyo said to Faiyuki. God, to think that Kyo of all people would be the one to stop Fai... Of course, he was probably only doing it because _he_ wanted to toy with Koray some more.

"Your friend is lucky that Lord Kyo takes an interest in her. Otherwise she'd be dead." Sharivar whispered into my ear as Kyo continued to speak.

"Screw off..." I muttered while I thought of how to get out of this. I saw Fai collapse, and then Kyo walked over to Koray, who was now conscious and resting on the floor beside an unusually worried Ayame.

"Since it doesn't appear that you and the cat are on good terms, I'll just take her and leave." Kyo smirked.

Koray stared up at him weakly. "Yeah... Whatever. I'm not in any position to stop you."

"Hold on." A cold voice came from the side. Suddenly Kyo jumped away to avoid a green, thorned whip. "You won't be taking the girl." Yoko Kurama said as he glared at Kyo.

"Interesting." Kyo smirked. "Then I take it that Mo-mo is of no concern to you? Sharivar, kill her."

"SHIT!" I panicked. But then the arm that held the sword was cut off clean by a force I didn't see. I moved away from Sharivar, and turned around just in time to see his body get sliced to pieces by Hiei's sword. "Hiei!" I exclaimed with relief.

"Hn. The fool shouldn't have let his guard down." The fire demon smirked.

Kyo let out a shout of frustration, and then sent a burst of fire in my direction. I easily created a shield out of my aura, blocking the flames. I smirked. "Can't let myself be saved by Hiei _all_ the time."

"Alright, you take care of him, and I'll finish what we came here to do." Hiei commanded.

"Sounds like a plan!" I exclaimed as Hiei disappeared. I summoned my scythe and charged at Kyo. He drew a sword, and the two of us soon became engaged in a fight. I attacked him relentlessly, though he still managed to block all of my blows. He had the upper hand, being more experienced and having a wider variety of techniques with the sword. However, my scythe was heavy, and it took more effort to fight it off. Kyo sent fire in my direction, but I jumped into the air to avoid it.

"You think you can win? You're just a pathetic human girl!" Kyo shouted at me.

"Just shut the hell up, and leave Fai alone!" I shouted back.

"What makes you think I have to do as you say?" He said as he shot more flames at me.

Once again I jumped into the air. "I'll tell you why; because I'M YOUR FUCKING GOD!!!" Mid-air, I threw a ball of aura at him, but he jumped forward to avoid it. However, as he put his foot to the ground, there was an explosion under it. He fell to the ground in pain as his leg was now badly wounded. Then without warning, I appeared in front of him and whacked him with the back of my scythe, knocking him into unconsciousness.

I sighed with relief. This fighting was just what I needed to ease the stress I've been feeling since Koray took advantage of me. But I was then distracted by shouting not too far away.

"You're after the Philosopher's Stone, aren't you?!" Yoko shouted at Hiei.

"Perhaps." Hiei smirked. "If I am, what do you plan to do about it?"

"Unfortunately for you, **I** will be the one of have the Stone in the end." Yoko said as he lashed his whip at Hiei, who dodged easily.

"The Stone will be _mine_!" Hiei shouted as flames burst from his fist and shot at Yoko. The fox dodged them, and then wrapped his whip around his arm so that it resembled a sword, and then the two began a head-to-head fight.

"Oh, there is no way I'm letting Yoko have the stone!" I muttered to myself, not being able to bear the thought of Fai's favourite beating out my favourite. I looked around, and then saw a large display case, that was relatively unharmed from Fai's outburst. Sure enough, inside it was the Philosopher's stone. "Yes!" I exclaimed as I sprinted over to it. However, when I was within just a few feet of it, sand blocked my way. Then Ayame appeared in front of me.

"Sorry, but I'm getting paid a lot to protect this thing. I can't allow you to have it." She said with a smirk.

"Gimme a break! You're employer's dead! Now get out of the way! I need to protect Hiei's dignity!" I shouted enthusiastically.

"I don't give a damn about your fire midget." Ayame shugged.

"Oh, that's it." I muttered, my eagerness for some action blocking out all memories of what happened the _last_ time I fought Ayame. "Now you're gonna pay-"

"I've an idea!" Koray exclaimed, appearing between the two of us, though he looked a little groggily. "Y'see... I know how I can... pay you both back... Ayame fer savin' my life... An' a favour to Mo-mo..."

"Huh?" Ayame and I blinked at him. He looked like he was on something…

Koray smiled widely, and then started swerving over to Ayame. "Close yer eyes please?" Ayame twitched nervously, but complied. Without a second's hesitation, Koray planted a kiss on her lips. Ayame's eyes shot open, as she tried to process the awkward physical contact. I could see her trembling as she debated between pushing Koray away or letting the moment continue. From what Fai had told me, Ayame was completely ignorant of matters concerning 'love' and 'affection towards another person'. She probably didn't even know what a kiss was.

After a few minutes, Koray pulled away from her, and smiled. Ayame just stood there with her eyes wide and mouth gaping.

I smashed Koray's head with my scythe. "HOW THE HELL IS THAT A _FAVOUR_ TO ME?! ALL IT PROVES IS THAT YOU'RE A DISGUSTING PERVERT!"

"Awww, c'mon..." Koray muttered with a brain-dead expression, and blood trickling down his face from my blow. "Jus' wait a mo'ent..."

"Koray..." Ayame muttered in a voice that was almost a whisper. "I don't understand... What was that... feeling...?" But before her question could be answered, she fell to ground, fainted.

For a moment I stared, half expecting her to get up, but she didn't move. "Oh. Well, I guess that did help a lot. Thanks."

"No probwem..." Koray muttered as he seemed to dangle back and forth like a grandfather clock. Looking at him kinda made me dizzy...

"Anyway, now for the Stone!" I exclaimed. But before I could even take a step, flames and vines rushed forward from behind me, smashing the glass that surrounded the Philosopher's Stone. Suddenly a very bloody Hiei and a badly burnt Yoko jumped out for it.

"IT'S MINE!!!" They shouted in unison.

Both grabbed onto the Stone at the exact same time. They both raised a foot and kicked the other away, leaving the Stone suspended in mid-air between them. Yoko sent some vines to latch onto it, but Hiei summoned the Sword of the Darkness Flame and cut them away. He grabbed the stone with his left hand, but Yoko knocked away the Stone with his whip and caught it. Hiei then threw his regular sword at the fox, piercing his arm and causing him to drop the stone. Hiei lunged out after the Stone, and managed to catch it before it hit the ground, but then Yoko stabbed Hiei's arm with the sword that had been thrown at him and took the stone.

"Some cat fight..." Koray muttered, though still brain-dead.

"No kidding..." I muttered with a sweat drop. They looked like two children fighting over the last cookie in the cookie jar.

Hiei went to attack, but then a bunch of vines latched onto his arms and legs, suspending him upside down. Hiei struggled, but he couldn't break free. Then Yoko approached him with a sadistically bemused smirk.

"Looks like... I win." He said through huffs. Both of them were completely exhausted, and stared at each other intensely.

"CHEATER!" I shouted. "The hell is this?! Are you too scared to fight Hiei in a fair battle?" I accused, totally unsatisfied with this outcome. I mean, how anti-climatic is that when two powerful beings are fighting each other, and it ends bcause one of them gets wrapped up in a bunch of vines??! IF HIEI'S GONNA GO DOWN, ITS GONNA BE IN A FRIGGIN' WORLD DESTROYING POWER CLASH!!!

"Be quiet. All I care about is the prize." Yoko stated, clearly annoyed.

"Oh, so you admit that this _was_ a cowardly move." Hiei smirked. Yoko sent him a harsh glare, and then the plants tightened themselves, and covered Hiei's mouth.

"H-have things calmed down..." A shaky voice came from entrance to the destroyed hall. We all turned to see who was talking, and there stood two demons that I didn't recognize. However, I felt a strange urge to rip off their limbs, tear out their organs, and bathe in their blood.

"Hayato. Arata. You're timing couldn't be better." Yoko smirked as his plants dropped Hiei to the ground with a _thud_.

"What the do you mean, fox? And what the hell happened in here?!" Arata screamed out.

"Although there were a few miscalculations and unpredicted events, I managed to acquire the Philosopher's stone." Yoko stated confidently as he held out the red stone for them to see. The two demons stared in horror. "Therefore, according to our bet, you two must resign from your current line of work."

"Ah... But... That's..." Hayato stuttered.

"You see! I told you this bet was a bad idea!" Arata screamed at his partner. "And all because you wanted that cute cat!" I twitched.

"What did you say you wanted?" I asked coldly. The two men looked at me, and then quivered at the glare I was giving them.

"Well, you see..." Yoko explained. "These men proposed a deal with me. If I could steal the Philosopher's Stone, they would resign from their business. However, if I failed then they would have taken Fai as their prize."

"Is that so..." I muttered. I could only imagine what they had been planning on doing to Fai. She's my best friend… And these bastards thought they could use her as their toy… That's unforgiveable… "**You scum… I WON'T LET YOU GET AWAY WITH THIS!**"

My aura flared. In that instant I abandoned all the humanity I had to begin with and entered into a state of pure rage. My red aura was completely visible and surrounded my body. The two men tried to run away, but I disappeared and reappeared in front of them. In a quick movement, I punched the two of them back into the room. They flew quite a ways before landing hard, and then struggling to sit up. They shook with fear as I approached them.

"P-please don't kill us..." Hayato begged.

"I promise, we'll do anything you say... Just let us live." Arata got on his knees, as if worshiping me.

**"You pieces of shit AREN'T WORTH MY SYMPATHY!"** I shouted as my aura shot forward and tore Arata into pieces. Body parts mixed with blood flew everywhere. I stared at the scene with a twisted smile on my face. Killing him made me extremely happy, and I felt a bloodlust like never before. I turned my eyes to the other man, who was frozen from fear. I grabbed him by the neck and lifted him up. A sadistic smirk spread across my lips as I pulled back my arm, and then brought it forward in a punch to his ribs. I punched him over and over, enjoying the sound of my fist breaking his ribs mixed with the scream that escaped from his mouth after each blow.

Suddenly, a hand reached out and took hold of my wrist, stopping my attacks. I turned, ready to have my aura tear the intruder to pieces, but I stopped myself when I saw Hiei.

"Give it a rest. You've made your point, already." He said simply.

For a moment I simply stared at him, as the bloodlust disappeared. "Hiei..." I muttered as Hayato slipped out of my hand and onto the floor, unconscious. "Why'd you... stop me?"

Hiei hesitated. Then he took his sword and shoved it into Hayato's throat. "For some reason, seeing you like that bothered me. That's all."

I stared at him curiously. "But... That's not like you. Wouldn't you of all people find what I was doing amusing?"

Hiei looked at me awkwardly, and took my hand an licked off some of the blood that had fallen there. "Now that I think about it... It was rather interesting. Maybe I'll get to see it again sometime." Hiei smirked.

My mouth gaped. "Wha..." Did Hiei just _lick my hand_?! How wierd...

"In any case, I'm satisfied." Yoko said. "We should get out of here before the other demons here decide that we're too dangerous for us to be left alive."

"I agree..." Koray muttered, as he approached us with Ayame in his arms. However, he was still incapable of walking in a straight line. "Let's get back to the...human world... And get our injuries treated, 'kay?"

Hiei licked my hand...

* * *

And Fai lay on the ground, forgotten, as she faced a horrible mental battle in which the enemy would be.... HERSELF AND ALL HER WORST FEARS!!! *DUN DUN DUUUUN!*

Sorry, just had to throw that out there XD  
But seriously... poor Fai.


	39. Chapter 39

***AIYOKU FAIYUKI'S POV***

"So am I dead, or am I not?" I huffed at my clone-copy-thing.

_You're half dead, I guess._ She shrugged, uncaringly. _Like, you used a whole lot of your life force in whatever the hell you were doing out there. So I guess you could die still, if you don't get some turbo bolt of energy or something, or you could just go into a coma._

"Wait, so I can't just wake up normally? And I'm stuck here with you?" I frowned, "That's not very fun."

_Oh don't worry._ The other 'me' huffed impatiently. _As soon as he gets here you'll be going on a little trip._

"To…?" I asked, looking around curiously, "And who?"

_To the 'Happy place' in your mind. I guess, or maybe it's not so happy. A more accurate description would probably be your mind's setting. You'll have to deal with a few self-induced barriers there, like issues you created for yourself and stuff. _The 'other me' gave me a cruel smile. _I wonder how you'll do. If you get lost you really will never wake up, unless you find your way before your body gives up on you._

"And you never answered my question on whom." I pointed out; sitting down on the surface I was standing on before.

_The other half of __**you**__. Some people might call it their conscience, or their evil twin, or the little voice inside their head, but it's essentially the polar opposite of the way you are._ The 'other me' shrugged as if it was common knowledge. _It balances your entity out in the greater works of things._

Suddenly a very shy looking boy stumbled into view from absolutely nowhere.

"How is that even possible?" I muttered, "You just, like, appeared." I frowned, contemplating how any of this was possible. "I wonder if Kyo drugged me. If this is 'high' it really isn't all that great."

_Sorry, sorry, sorry!!! _The boy said, as he shook his arms to catch his balance as he almost fell flat on his face.

_You're late!_ The female me hissed, clearly annoyed. _It's not like you have to DO anything around here, so why are you late?!_

_I don't know!!!!_ The boy wailed, near tears, _I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'M SORRY!!!!!_

"I really have a hard time believing that this wimp is me." I blinked at the small blond boy, "I mean I wouldn't even apologise like that to Mo-mo."

_It doesn't matter!_ The female 'me' yelled in agitation, _I'm your evil side, and he's your good side. Call me Kathryn and him Nicolas._

_Not 'Nick' please. _'Nicolas' added shyly.

"Gotcha, Bitch and Nicolas. So I'm what, a balance of you two?" I asked.

_KATHRYN!_ She growled. _And yes. Now your goodie-two-shoes side is going to take you on a little trip through the way you have set up your 'happy place' or whatever the hell you want to call it._

"Oh great…" I sighed, "Fine, fine. Let's just get going, okay?"

_Okay! _Nicolas smiled brightly, and suddenly the place faded into black and out to white.

"So this," I gestured out at the grassy field, "Is my mind? A lot emptier than I thought it would be." I looked up at the night sky, "But I can see the stars here." I smiled, "I like it."

_This way!_ Nicolas smiled, as he held a hand out to me. Suddenly the world seemed huge, and Nicolas seemed to grow about a foot.

Then I realised that I had shrunken.

"W-what?" I stuttered, looking out at my hands, "So small…"

_This is the 'you' that made this place._ Nicolas had a sad smile on his face as his eyes gave me a pitiful look. _From back in grade four, your first rejection. You made this place to escape to, remember?_

I nodded in wonder. Of course I remembered. My grade school years after moving were hell. I lost contact with all my old friends, and then tried two different schools with no luck. I was flat out detested by those children.

"I made this place because I couldn't be hurt here." I walked forward with Nicolas, and soon the grassy field faded into smooth pavement. "The kids were too cruel. I didn't 'let things slide' like all the adults thought, I just distanced myself until it couldn't even touch me…" I looked in wonder at the tall buildings I had made in my mind six years before. "I would just run around by myself and read and draw. But it was all books and drawings that I had done before… Wait a second." I stopped, staring at my reflection in an empty window, "I made this place in grade four, but I'm at around the height of when I was what, four? I would have been in grade one, not four."

_You were innocent when you made this place, and whether you want to admit it or not, you still are._ Nicolas smiled. _This place represents back then though, Kathryn will take you through your mind in its current condition._

"Oh, isn't that something to look forward to…" I sighed, my voice quieter like when I was younger, "So why are we here? What do we want here?"

_I guess it's just to give you a little bit of a chance to find your way around now. _Nicolas sent a worrying glance my way. _This place will be chaotic now, well not 'NOW' now just… when Kathryn and I unseal the barriers protecting your mind it's going to be insane…_ Nicolas sighed. _Literally._

"I see." I gave Nicolas a smile. I didn't want him to worry, I mean if my current mind was in ruins it was kind of my fault, right? We wandered around, exploring the sterile, empty buildings and fields. We played around in the playground for a bit too, and then found Kathryn in the Library.

_Is she ready?_ Kathryn looked at me, clearly not liking what she saw. _She looks less ready than she did before._

_I think she's ready as she will be._ Nicolas sighed. _Maybe._

Suddenly there was a large explosion of light and everything was cast into an eerie, red glow. Nicolas disappeared, and Kathryn stood in front of me frowning at my curious expression.

_Well, let's hurry up. The sooner you deal with this, the sooner I can go back to rest._ She sighed irritably.

"Just curious, why do I have to do this again?" I asked.

_Because you went and got yourself killed, or close enough that you have to freaking fight for your freaking life._ Kathryn growled.

"Okay, gotcha." I smiled. "Now I wonder, I wonder." I looked around the once beautiful library. There were fires everywhere, burning away at the books. I frowned, but turned towards the door, "I really don't wanna go out there, do I?" I asked Kathryn, who just shrugged and disappeared from sight. "HEY WAIT!" I yelled out, "GET BACK HERE!" I looked around, suddenly not so sure about this whole ordeal thing. I bit down on my bottom lip and sighed, staring straight at the tall oak doors. "Well, I can't stay in here forever." I muttered, mostly to hear something besides the echoed screams from outside. I tried to open the door, but blinked when I realized it was stuck. I knew I had to do something, I mean both Nicolas and Kathryn had clearly said that there was an ending to all this and the only way to beat something is to move forward.

I leaned against the door and pushed all the weight in my small, four year old body into shoving the door as hard as I could. I winced as I felt my shoulder bruise, but continued to push as the door slowly slid open.

The only word to describe my 'mind' was chaos. Sound erupted from all around me, as screams, guns, bombs, crying, and every horrible sound that I had ever heard echoed in my head. I looked around but saw no people, only shadows, running around crowding around me. Moans begging for help as small and large shadowed hands reached out towards me, pulling on the kimono that had shrunken with me in this weird world.

"No. Stay away." My voice didn't quaver, but my expression could easily portray the fear and discomfort I felt in this moment.

_Come with us, _the shadows whispered in jumbled union. _Become one of us._ I shook my head 'no' and shoved through the crowds of solid black. The sky had turned red, everything else white, except for the shadows that reached out to me. Pulling, grabbing, and trying to catch me as I barely slipped through their fingers. I turned around to look at my stalkers, nearly tripping over the wooden shoes. I kicked them off my feet; I could run faster without those things.

"What do you want?!" I screamed out at them, but my only reply was the echoed invitation that I knew I couldn't accept. I shoved through the doors to a tall, crumbling building and sprinted for the stairs.

I remembered this place; it was what I thought my mother's office would look like. I'd often pretend I was her, sitting in a big, boss-like desk doodling, even though she was really only somebody who ordered equipment. Now I was trying to remember a place to hide. I eventually hit the seventh floor, my favourite number at the time, and I sprinted into the office I had labelled as my mother's.

_Welcome home, hunny._ The familiar voice echoed. The big chair swivelled around and another shadow, who was sitting in it, faced me. _Come give your Mommy dearest a hug._ The words seemed to echo as homesickness flooded through me. But I knew this was anything but my mother. For one my mother was **human**, although I refused to accept that sometimes, and frankly the only thing that showed on these shadows were their sharp white teeth. Not too inviting, and definitely not belonging to anybody I knew.

"NO!" I screamed, as I turned around and slammed the door behind me. I ran into the elevator, and smacked the close doors button. I paused before hitting ground, if I was lucky they'd all be on the stairs by then.

When the doors opened I looked around, and sighed with relief when I found nobody, although the echoing murmurs and screams still surrounded me. I ran out the front doors, better to not be cornered in a building, and ran out onto the street. Despite the horrific sounds, I saw none of the creatures from before. I ran down the street, looking desperately for a place to hide.

"I should have just stayed in the library." I whimpered as tears of fear slid down my cheeks. "I should have just hid there; maybe it's just a 'survive for so long' thing." I whimpered again. I stopped. A small huddled shadow was shaking, quivering whimpers and wails echoing from its form.

_Y-you came back._ It whimpered, as it turned to face me. Although I could see no eyes, the tears on its cheeks where highlighted in white, like its teeth were.

"Who… who are you?" I whimpered, I just wanted to leave.

_You don't remember me, Britt?_ The thing stood up. The remainder of the tears slid off its face, leaving it blank and black. Only the ominous teeth glowing in a sadistic smirk. _You created me, how could you forget me? And have you forgotten the others?_

"What others?! I don't remember any of this!" I screamed out, closing my eyes and holding my hands to my head as I fell to the ground, rolling into the fetal position.

_But you created us…_ The echoes came from all around me, and I looked up in horror as I realised I was totally surrounded. _We were your playmates from when you made this place, remember? You abandoned us…_

"NO!" I shouted, "You're not real! You can't abandon what doesn't exist!" I curled back into a ball; I felt hands gripping at my hair, dress, arms, legs, feet, anything that they could get their hands on.

_You abandoned us. You deserve to be one of us…_ They echoed with hatred evident in their disarrayed chorus. _Let us devour you. There will be nothing left! Just like you left us to be devoured by your empty mind! PAY!_

"NO!" I screamed, as fresh tears fell down my face, "NO! NO! NO!!! LEAVE ME ALONE!" I curled tighter, "It's not real, and it's a bad dream. All just a bad dream…" I whimpered, "It's not real, it's not even possible… it's all just a nightmare…" I hugged my knees and hid my face behind my legs, and continued to whimper. "Go away, just please go away…"

_Like you did?_

"Leave me alone…"

_We didn't want you to leave us all alone._

"I want to go back… I want to go away from this place…"

_We had no other place to go._

The reaching hands became more desperate as weight surrounded me and the horrible beings pushed forward.

"Back off." A cold voice echoed from somewhere ahead.

_Another one that's alive._ The shadows whispered, as I was yanked to my feet and pulled in a possessive grasp. _Not possible. _They echoed. _It's Brittany's mind. Not possible for other alive things to be here. Only us abandoned and her…_

"I thought I told you to back off. And let go of the girl while you're at it." The cold voice echoed again. I looked up and, through blurry tears, saw Hiei standing there, sword drawn.

"H-Hiei…" I whimpered, when screamed slightly as something tried to pull into the center of the shadowy crowd.

"Damn it Fai. Get over here. Fight back." Hiei growled, as he got into a fighting position. "I can't attack with you in there, you're too small. I'd cut you down." I whimpered and closed my eyes again as the whispers echoed loudly around me.

_She is OURS. She deserves this punishment. She abandoned us._

"She created you." He frowned in annoyance. He'd clearly rather cut and go. I was pulled back into the black mass slightly.

"No…" I whimpered as I struggled, but the thing held me off the ground, and I couldn't get out of its grasp. Loud screams echoed out as a large ball of fire hit the centre of the circle and I was propelled forward as the thing that was holding me fell over.

I crawled out from under it, and ran to hide behind Hiei.

"Tch. Pathetic." Hiei growled contemptuously, "You managed to beat Koray? You're nothing but a snivelling brat. You can't even take care of your own problems." I whimpered the tears still in a steady stream down my face. "Look at this place, it's a disaster zone," Hiei continued, "How do you expect to accomplish anything when you, yourself are so broken."

"Shut up…" I whimpered, realizing then that I was quivering in fear.

"Why should I have to clean up for you? This is your mind, not mine. You should have to take care of it." Hiei was glaring down at me, now that he was taller than me and could.

"Shut up." I hugged my arms to myself, trying to shut the scorn off.

"You're pathetic, weak. You just run away from your own problems. Do you think that running from your own problems, just solving everybody else's issues will work? Don't be naive." Hiei hissed, his glare darkening. "You don't even have it that bad."

"SHUT UP!" I screamed sending Hiei back with a wave of energy. I was exhausted, still having no power left from my fight with Koray, and lashing out at Hiei was not a smart thing to do. Now I was literally totally drained. I continued anyways, "What do you know about me anyways? Huh?! If you just came here to make fun of me like everybody else does, then just LEAVE ME ALONE!" Another wave of energy shot out and suddenly Hiei and I were pulled into a flashback.

*********

_I looked around at the familiar surroundings. It was my third, and final, grade school's playground. _

_On top of a hill stood a boy with blond hair and a crooked smile, that seemed welcoming enough to the blonde that stood in front of him, they were talking and the girl's sad expression slowly changed into a joyous one._

"_Yea, we're really sorry about earlier, uhm, Brittany was it?" The boy asked, widening his smile._

"_Yup!" She nodded happily, as another boy crawled up the steep hill, and then kneeled over on his hands and knees behind her._

"_I'm Ryan," The boy introduced, "By the way. Anyways, yea we should hang out some time. Maybe I could get the other guys and some of the girls and we could all go see a movie or something." 'Ryan' shrugged, as if it was no big deal. The blonde's blue eyes sparkled with excitement._

"_Yea, that'd be awesome." She said, actually looking forward to hopefully making some friends here. After the abuse she had taken earlier; a basket ball, a soccer ball, two tennis balls, and three footballs to the head and back, she was slowly getting over her weariness with some the kids from the school._

_The boy held his hand out in a truce._

"_So we're all good?" He asked. The girl nodded, but before she could accept his handshake invitation, he shoved her, hard, sending her keeling over the boy that stood behind her and rolling down the steep hill._

_She whimpered in pain as she held her now bleeding elbow with one hand, and her knee with the other. The two boys laughed and took off towards the school as the bell rang, calling the children back to class. She got up and limped slowly back towards the school, trying to think up an excuse for the mud, dirt, and injuries._

*********

"_What's wrong!?" The boys sneered, "You gunna cry again?" The same girl from before on the hill was frowning slightly at the boys that had surrounded her._

"_What do you want now?" she asked, quietly, "I'm not giving you my assignment to copy, so you can just forget about that idea."_

"_Just look at the little teacher's pet!" One of the boys who had tripped her earlier chided, "Doesn't swear, listens to the teachers, and does the work, what a suck-up!" The boys kicked sand at her than ran off as a teacher came over._

"_Are they picking on you?" The older woman asked with a scornful expression on her face. The young girl just shook her head no and walked away, hoping to find somewhere to sit in peace for the rest of her break._

*********

"YOU DON'T KNOW ANYTHING!" I screamed at Hiei as I broke down into flat out sobs. "It's not my fault… what did I ever do wrong, anyways? I just tried my hardest… it was never good enough for them. They only used me, even when I trusted them!"

*********

_The sleep-deprived blonde reached for the ringing phone._

"_Hello?" She asked, not used to calls for her, "Yes, this is me. Oh! Hi Mrs. M. Is there something I can help you with? I don't know what you're talking about." She paused and listened to the frantic mother on the other end of the line, "No, I never got an invitation to see a movie. No, Mrs. M, I didn't go see a movie with Alisha, I was doing my math homework. Yes, that's right." She paused, "Sorry I couldn't help, but I have no idea. I didn't even know they were going out. Yes, goodnight to you too."_

_She hung up the phone, staring in wonder._

"_She told her mom… that I was going to see a movie with them?" She frowned, "Then why didn't they invite me…"_

*********

I bit down on my lip to avoid another sob.

"I was always alone. Of course a place like this would be created. But this wasn't the place I made." I whimpered, staring at the destroyed buildings. I hugged myself tighter, "I just… I just want to go home, away from here…" I sighed, "I shouldn't have made this place to run away, I know… but it was hard and…" Suddenly there was another explosion of light, and everything disappeared. The buildings, the shadows, Hiei; it was all gone.

And for the final time everything faded out to black.


	40. Chapter 40

_Note: the events in this chapter take place around the same time as the previous chapter. This is really just a filler chapter since Mo-mo isn't doing anything significant at the moment, and I apologize for that (I really dislike writing fillers, but I have no choice in the matter) so it'll just be a little shorter than usual. Enjoy the randomness ^^_

* * *

***MO-MO'S POV***

We all retreated back into the human world with no problems. After hearing about what had happened, it appeared that the other demons at the mansion were too afraid of us to stop us from leaving. Yoko had contacted Koenma to explain our situation, and we were scheduled to meet Yusuke and Kuwabara at Genkai's temple. Yukina would already be there, waiting to heal our wounds. We were all very quiet; me from awkwardness, Hiei from frustration at the fact that Yoko got the Philosopher's Stone, Fai and Ayame were out cold, and Yoko was just naturally reserved. Well, Koray on the other hand, just wouldn't shut up. If I hadn't known that Fai had nearly killed him by shoving water into him, then I would have thought that he was drunk or on some kind of drug.

"Fun trip, huh... But y'know, I dun see why yer all so... so... um... wha's the word... uptight?" Koray paused as he pushed his wounded brain to think. "'Nyway... are we almos at da temple yet?"

"SHUT UP!" Hiei, Yoko and I shouted at him.

God, he was only getting worst! I wanted to hit him, but it's not like that would make a difference. And on top of that, I don't think it would be good for him to lose any more brain cells at the moment. His healing abilities were most likely in severe drawback because of Fai's water entering his system.

Finally, we arrived at the temple (after a tiring hike up the ridiculous amount of stairs). Yusuke and Kuwabara greeted us with wide smiles, and lots of questions. We placed ourselves in an empty room, and lay Fai and Ayame off to the side so they could get some rest.

"Wow, Mo-mo, wasn't expecting you and Hiei to show up at Fai and Kurama's mission!" Kuwabara exclaimed.

"Yeah, and on request from _him_ of all people." Yusuke muttered as he glared at Koray who was rocking back and forth while he sat on a cushion like the rest of us. "What the hell happened to him anyway?"

"Uh.... It's a long story..." I muttered, not really wanting to get into it.

"Well, I should start healing Hiei and Yoko-san." Yukina smiled. "You two seem to be wounded the worst." Yoko said nothing, while Hiei looked away awkwardly.

"Neeee, Yukina! Give Daddy some o' those healing magics too!" Koray burst out, causing Yukina to jump with a start.

Hiei punched him through the wall. "SHUT YOUR GODDAMNED TRAP!"

"Um... Should I heal him?" Yukina muttered as she stared at between Koray and Hiei with wide eyes.

"Yes! _Please_ fix whatever's wrong with his head!" Hiei commanded. Yukina nodded and scurried over to Koray, who was having trouble standing up and getting back to his seat.

"Yeah... I hate to say it, but I really miss the old Koray..." Yusuke muttered.

"At least you didn't have to listen to him during the trip from Demon World to here." I muttered harshly.

"Yeah, and besides, why'd he call himself 'Daddy' while talking to Yukina?" Kuwabara muttered. "That couldn't mean-"

"It means nothing! He's crazy." Hiei, Yusuke and I burst out at once.

"Yeah, I guess you're all right." Kuwabara sighed. Good thing he was an idiot. We then heard a groan come from the side of the room, as one of the unconscious girls was waking up.

"Fai..." I muttered hopefully, but it was Ayame.

"Where... the hell am I?" She asked as she looked around the room.

"This is my temple." Genkai stated.

"Oh..." Ayame muttered. Suddenly a blush formed on her face, and she looked at us awkwardly. Suddenly she got up, and sat in front of me, looking me in the eye. "Uhm... You guys have all been partners for a while, right?"

"Well, yeah. I guess..." I muttered. "Why do you ask?"

"I was just wondering... If what Koray did was normal for people who have been partners..." Ayame stuttered uncomfortably.

"What he... did?" Others in the room questioned.

"Y-you saw it..." Ayame said to me. "When he put his lips against mine." Her face became even redder.

"Oh, the kiss." I said simply.

"Is that what it's called..." Ayame muttered to herself.

"WHAT??! KORAY KISSED HER?!" Yusuke burst out.

"I THOUGHT THEY SAID THEY WEREN'T TOGETHER!" Kuwabara exclaimed.

"Shut up! I'm talking to this one!" Ayame exclaimed with a brighter blush, though this one was definitely from the embarrassment. But I wish she would use my name... Ayame turned back to me. "So? What does a kiss mean?"

"Well, a kiss is a sign of a person's love for someone else. You don't kiss someone you aren't in love with." I tried to explain, but it's not like I had much experience in this area. "Generally, I think it's against the rules, so to speak, to be in a relationship with your partner. But it does happen, and I'm pretty sure it's alright for demons..." I prayed that my information was accurate.

"So you give a kiss... to someone you love." Ayame said, more to herself than me. She turned to look at Yukina and Koray, who was receiving his needed treatment. I couldn't tell which of the two she was staring at, but for Yukina's sake, I prayed that it was Koray.

"Hn. What foolishness. I'm leav-" Hiei froze mid-sentence, and his eyes widened. For a moment he was completely motionless, and then he fell to the floor.

"Hiei?!" We exclaimed, as most of us ran over to him. He was still alive, but had just fallen unconscious.

"What could have made him fall over like that?" Kuwabara wondered.

"I have no idea..." Genkai muttered. "I didn't sense anything strange, what about you guys?" Yusuke and Yoko both shook their heads 'no'.

"But _something_ had to cause it! This is Hiei, he doesn't just fall over for no reason!" I blurted out, my worry starting to consume me. I mean, Fai hasn't woken up yet, and now Hiei randomly passes out. Something weird is definitely going on here...


	41. Chapter 41

***AIYOKU FAIYUKI'S POV***

Hiei woke up before I did. In fact, it was Hiei who woke me up. I was woken by violent shaking and an uncomfortable weight on my stomach.

"Hiei! You're going to kill her!" Yusuke shouted.

"She deserves to die!" Hiei growled from his straddle-position on my stomach.

"You're the one that's going to die, Sparkey-chan, if you don't get off of me." I sighed tiredly.

"YOU!" Hiei growled.

"Me?" I asked in return, smiling innocently. "Wait no, you." I frowned. "Thanks for the save Hiei, but stay out of my mind from now on." He twitched, literally.

"**Me** stay out of **your** mind?! I wasn't in there by choice, stupid cat!" Hiei yelled. I shoved him off of me as I rubbed my soar head.

"What are you talking about?" I muttered. "You showed up in my mind, so it's clearly your fault."

"What's going on?" Yoko asked curiously.

"He is accusing me of pulling him into my mind,** which I obviously can't do**!" I protested, in total sync with Hiei who objected with:

"She thinks that I went into her mind, willingly, **which** **I obviously wouldn't do**!"

"What!? Shut up!" We shouted at each other. "Stop it!" We twitched (also in unison). "Ugh! You idiot! **THIS IS ALL YOUR FULT!**"

"Just shut up, you two!" Mo-mo shouted with a chuckle. We stopped our little glaring contest to stare at her, who was now relentlessly laughing.

"Why?" I asked, my voice once again merging with Hiei's as he 'Che'd at everybody and went to glare at me from across the room.

"What happened?" Yoko tried again with a sigh. "Why did Hiei pass out, and how did he get into your mind. Or at least, I'd assume that he was there from the current argument."

"Hmm… I apparently used up my actual life energy or whatever while I was trying to kill Koray, which I will do later, and when Kyo KO'd me I met my inner workings, or my conscious, or something…" I inhaled deeply as I continued with my explanation. "So my 'evil' side is this girl, Kathryn, and my 'good' side is this boy, Nicolas. Nicolas gives me the grand tour of this place I created in my head when I was younger, my happy place so to speak, and I'm like four here…" I paused again. "I was so weird looking then, I had long hair, and was always stuck in dresses… and I was so blehhhhh… Anyways, after I get a grand tour of this happy place I get pulled into its current state by Kathryn, which is like a living hell. You know how when you're little you make imaginary friends? I made a lot, because I was shy and a total loner… So I guess I kind of abandoned them when I started making friends, and they didn't like it so much." I inhaled again. "Yea, they _really_ didn't like it so much. So I'm about to be devoured by these evil warped things that I created when I was little and guess who shows up? Little Sparkey-chan in all his shining glory. He kills off these things, I admit I'm scared shitless, that I was wrong, and that it's all my fault, and we're here now." I paused again. "And I repeat, stay the hell out of my hell, Hiei."

"I DIDN'T GO THERE WILLINGLY!" Hiei shouted.

"So, Hiei…" Yusuke smiled mischievously. "What's it like in Fai's mind, anyways?" Everybody looked to Hiei, who shuddered in the corner.

"Oh come on." I sighed. "You're the one who shows up in there, and it was too much for you?"

"Tch. Do you want me to show them?" Hiei smirked as he sent a short clip reliving me, in my four-year-old glory, cowering as these demons try to devour me. His words echoed in my mind.

'Tch. Pathetic. You managed to beat Koray? You're nothing but a snivelling brat. You can't even take care of your own problems. Why should I have to clean up for you? This is your mind, not mine. You should have to take care of it. You're pathetic, weak. You just run away from your own problems. Do you think that running from your own problems, just solving everybody else's issues will work? Don't be naive. You don't even have it that bad.'

I flinched slightly as the painful scene replayed in my mind. I sent Hiei a pained glare.

"It's none of their business." I mumbled, looking away from the worried stares of my friends.

"It's not my business either." Hiei growled.

"Don't." I said, as I flinched again. 'Why should I have to clean up for you?'

"Stop me." Hiei growled. I turned around and lunged at him, but a moment too late. I grabbed my head and fell to the ground in the fatal position, as I was sent back into that hell, forced to see from when Hiei found me until I forced him out of my mind all over again.

The next few minutes felt like hours as I relived the pain and the fear.

The second I was released from my own, personal hell, I ran for the sliding door that would let me escape the room.

"Wait, Fai-" Yusuke said in a shaky tone as he reached out to me.

"Don't touch me." I recoiled as my still feline ears flattened against my head. "Don't…" Tears started to well up in my eyes as I turned and sprinted out the door, running off straight into the trees.

As I escaped the temple I heard a loud smack.

"What was that for?!" I heard Hiei yell.

"How could you say that to her!?" Mo-mo replied. "You dumba..." The voices became inaudible as I got farther away from the temple.

I ran as fast as I could, and the forest blurred alongside me as tears streaked my face. Branches tore at my arms and legs, and rocks on the ground tore at my feet, causing me to leave bloody footprints on the ground.

I felt a presence appear behind me and I stopped and turned around to confront whoever was following me. There was nothing there, and I frowned.

"I swear that I…" I murmured.

"Sensed someone?" A cool voice whispered in my ear. Startled, I turned around, almost kissing the owner of the voice in the process. I scrambled backwards and faced the stranger, feeling almost as curious as I was afraid at this point.

"Who… who are…?" I tried to ask, not being able to form words as I stared at him. He had long, smooth, shining black hair that came down to his elbows and shifted slightly in the breeze.

"Who am I? That's a good question." He said smiling and his crimson red eyes twinkled.

"W-why are…" I stuttered, feeling nothing less than sheer terror in this man's presence.

"Why am I here?" His smile turned cruel, and his eyes locked on to mine, holding me in place, "Kyo was right, for once, you do have very nice eyes." His smile spread. "And I can sense great potential from you… You would make a great toy, Miss Aiyoku Faiyuki."

"How… How do you…?" I stammered, fear gripping me as I started to step backwards.

"How do I know you?" His smile spread even larger at my obvious fear and he stepped forward. "That is irrelevant, just remember, you'll be mine, very, very soon." He disappeared, and reappeared in front of me. He pressed his lips onto mine forcefully. I scrambled backwards trying to escape, but I tripped over a rock.

I expected to hit the ground, leaving myself totally undefended and open for the stranger, but was surprised when I continued to fall. I looked up through the blue-green light but could only see two crimson stars on a black canvas, and the opening to the portal closed.

I landed on my back. Still terrified, I jumped up, standing on the irregular surface that I had fallen onto. I looked around Koenma's office in shock, and then looked down.

"Hiei." I stated, as if I had trouble comprehending the most basic of things.

"YES ME!" He yelled from under my feet. "NOW GET OFF!"

"Right…" I stuttered. "Sorry, I…" I looked away as the small fire demon stood up, glared at me, and then stomped across the room.

"Fai are you…?" Yusuke didn't finish the question. I chuckled slightly.

"Okay? Am I okay?!" I asked, and I hugged my arms to myself as I backed into the wall. "Of course not. Nothing is okay. But I have to deal with it, don't I? Because life isn't fair. Never has been, never will be. That's just the way things work." I shrugged.

Suddenly five fists came down onto my head.

"Don't talk like that!" Kuwabara frowned.

"Gyuu! It's so dark and depressing!" Botan whined.

"Just because life ain't fair doesn't mean you gotta give up on it! Look at me!" Yusuke grinned.

"You're alive, right?" Yoko pointed out.

"Anyways, I'm here for you!" Mo-mo smiled, as she took her fist off my head and glomped me.

"Yeah we're here for ya!" The rest of them chimed in, joining in on the group hug.

"Then why'd you hit me?" I demanded.

"Ruining the moment." Mo-mo said flatly.

"Right, sorry." I smiled. I inhaled deeply, and I felt Mo-mo stiffen. "Fine, we're going to play like this? SUPER FLYING GLOMP OF DOOM!" I yelled out cheerfully, as I threw myself against the group, throwing them all to the floor. I stood up, and I smiled viciously at Hiei, who cringed with terror. "Should I? I mean, it _would _be super effective." My smile hit a point that lost all form of sanity. "I don't think Sparkey-chan's the type to carry Oran berries."

He glared at me, but was saved when Koenma cleared his throat.

"Okay, everybody." Koenma started calmly, and then shouted, "GRAB HER!" I was suddenly pinned to the ground by a team of about seven medics, who held me tightly.

"You wouldn't dare!" I stated all the playfulness from my voice gone. The same doctor from before came out with a seemingly kind smile. I frowned curiously as he pulled out disinfectant, and rubbed it on the soft-spot between my neck and my shoulder. As he started to straighten up I twisted my body one way, then back sharply, sending the female nurse who was holding my arm into the doctor.

Yusuke burst out laughing as the doctor shoved the nurse off him and shoved her out of the room with an order for rope.

I was now sitting in a bolted down chair, with my arms tied down behind me. The doctor came towards me with the needle, and gave me a challenging glare. I smiled in return. He walked towards me cautiously, and I brought my leg up in between his legs. He fell to the floor, tears forming in his eyes.

I was in the same chair, with my legs now also tied down. The doctor gave me a superior look, and I once again smiled. I brought my shoulders up, as if I was shrugging, blocking off the point that he needed to inject at. As he struggled to move my shoulder I swiftly brought my head forward, poking my feline ear into his eye. He yelled out in pain as he backed away.

The doctor stepped forward, now wearing an eye patch. My shoulders were tied down tightly; I couldn't move them at all. He growled at me, and I smiled, tilting my head to the side, once again blocking the point of injection. He tried to push my head away, but wound up yelling out in pain as I bit down hard on his hand. I spat out the blood as he jumped back cradling the injury.

My head was being forced into the same position with a metal-restrain-devise-thing. I frowned, I continued to fiddle with the knot I had been undoing on my hands the whole time. Just as the doctor neared me I freed my hands, and then sent him flying backwards with a punch to the nose, that broke it.

I was no longer being restrained by an inanimate object. Kurama, who was back to his human form, was holding me in place with his vines.

"Traitor…" I muttered, near tears as I struggled.

"Well, I have to. Hiei's not here to restrain you mentally because Koenma wanted some tests done to see what happened while he was on your mental field, Mo-mo doesn't have a compatible power to restrain you, and you'd kill Yusuke or Kuwabara if they tried to hold you back." Kurama smiled playfully.

"Not fair…" I whined pitifully.

The doctor walked out, the eye that wasn't under an eye patch blackened, his nose with tissue paper stuffed in it, and a sadistic smile on his face.

"Waaa! Scary!" I cried, as I struggled to escape.

"Don't worry; this is only going to hurt for a second." The doctor twitched, probably wishing it would last longer.

"NOOO!" I screamed as he shoved the needle into my neck.

*********

"That hurt…" I sniffled, as I rubbed the bandage on my neck.

"It wasn't that bad." Kurama sweat-dropped. Hiei walked in the door, and plopped into the floor next to us, looking very dizzy.

"Sparkey-chan is confused! It has hurt itself in its confusion!" I said in a mock-announcer voice.

"All that's left is you guys take a mouthful of this." A nurse said cautiously. I practically killed the doctor after he injected me, so it was clear that he needed a replacement.

I sighed, but just did as I was told. Pills and liquids are better than needles. Kurama and Hiei took some too.

"There is only a few side effects, you may feel a little weak for the next few days and your immune systems will be much weaker for a little while, but nothing fatal." The nurse smiled. Then she walked out of the room.

"So! Kurama, Faiyuki, Hiei, and Mo-mo. You'll all be off missions for the next two weeks." Koenma stated.

"WHAT!" Kuwabara and Yusuke objected.

"Well we can't have Faiyuki, Kurama, or Hiei on missions, it could be potentially dangerous." Botan scolded the boys.

"But what about Mo-mo!?" Yusuke whined.

"She's going to take care of Hiei and Fai!" Botan smiled. "Kurama's mother is home, so she will be able to take care of him."

Yusuke and Kuwabara sighed in defeat.

"Well, I guess I'll see you guys at school tomorrow." Mo-mo smiled.

"Yea, yea…" Yusuke sighed.

*********

I woke up early, and it was raining outside. I coughed slightly, and kicked my legs over the side of the bed. I walked out into the dark kitchen and opened the cupboard above my head. I pulled out the bread and put two slices into the toaster. As I was returning the bag of bread to its rightful spot I sneezed. My head shot forward, nailing the corner of the open cabinet door.

"OW, OW, OWWW!!!" I yelled, holding the sore spot on my forehead.

"Shutuppmh…" A mumbled voice came from Mo-mo's room, and a text book the size of the bloody bible came flying out of her room. The hard cover hit me in the back of the head and I whimpered in pain as I held the back of my head.

I muttered a stream of curses under my voice, being sure to be quieter so I didn't wake Mo-mo, and I stood up. Suddenly the fire alarm went off, and the smell of burnt toast became overwhelming as they popped out of the top of the toaster, totally charcoaled.

I ran to turn off the screaming alarm but tripped over the text book that had been thrown at me and landed on a chair, breaking it in the process. I finally got to the alarm, but a vase from Mo-mo's room had come crashing out at me. I sighed as I looked at the clock.

I had five minutes for a ten minute walk.

"Shit…" I muttered, and then sneezed again.

I quickly swept up the broken glass, but not before cutting myself in the process, and ran out the door, with nothing more than my uniform and my bag, into the pouring rain.

The bus was pulling away just as I turned the corner to the stop.

"Shiiit!" I yelled, as I shook my wet hair. I ran after the bus but with no real hope of catching it. "It looks like I'm walking to school."

The entire way I felt a familiar, terrifying presence, but I couldn't see the red-eyed stranger anywhere, so I just continued to run.

I didn't get to school until halfway through second period, math.

*********

"Aiyoku-kun! You're late!" The teacher said accusingly.

"Yea… Sorry." I smiled as I shook my hands through my hair slightly, in an attempt to get rid of some of the water. "I missed the bus…"

"You're soaking wet!" She teacher grabbed her jacket off the back of her chair and rushed over to try to dry me off.

"It's raining out." I stated simply, and then sneezed again.

"You're going to get sick!" The teacher sighed and shook her head. "Kids today… Minamino-kun, can you please take Aiyoku-kun down to the nurse's office? There should be some dry clothes there."

"Okay." Kurama smiled at me as he walked towards me. "Don't you live over in…?"

"Yes. And it was an almost hour and a half long walk. Hence the wetness." I smiled as I started to walk towards the door. "Coming?" I asked. He nodded and followed after me.

*********

I wound up standing wrapped in a large white blanket as my clothes dried.

"Are you sure you don't want the girl's uniform?" The nurse teased. I shook my head, allowing little droplets of water to fly around the room.

"No thank you. I'll just wait for my uniform." The nurse chuckled as I stood uncomfortably.

"Why don't you take a nap, I'll be sure to wake you when you when your uniform has dried." The nurse smiled. I sighed slightly.

"I guess." I was surprisingly tired, and my headache was really bad today. "It wouldn't hurt, I think."

*********

I woke to the final bell. I shot up and looked around the empty room. At the end of the cot that I was lying on was my uniform, dry and folded, and a note. I picked up the note and scanned over it, twitching slightly.

_Fai-kun,_

_I'm sorry! You just looked so sweet and peaceful! I couldn't bring myself to wake you! Don't worry about your classes, I rang in and said that you weren't feeling well. Although you still have to go and pick up your work. I've left for some family business. I'm sorry! I'm so sorry!!_

_Your everyday school nurse._

I twitched and quickly pulled on my uniform, but I fell back down as the room started to spin around me.

"Stupid head rush…" I muttered as I shook my head and stood again. I finally made it to my classes and got all of the work I had missed, but by the time I was outside, in the pouring rain again, my bus had already left.

"Faiyuki-san?" I turned around to face Kurama. "Was that your bus?"

"Maybe." I looked away. "It doesn't ma-a-ACHOO!" I sneezed. "Gah! Stupid sneezing leave me a-ACHOO! GAH!" Kurama sweat dropped as I twitched slightly. "Something funny?" I asked.

"Nothing at all." Kurama smiled.

"Good, then I'm going now." I turned to walk towards the sidewalk, but I sneezed again.

"No, you're not." Kurama smiled as he grabbed my hand to hold me in place and checked my fever with the other hand. "My mother's coming to pick me up, I'll ask if she can drive you home as well."

"No! I wouldn't want to trou- ACHOO!!!" I sniffed and looked away.

"I won't take no for an ans- ACHOOO!!!" Kurama sneezed loudly. He sniffled as we stared at each other awkwardly.

Suddenly we burst out laughing. "Fine…" I muttered between laughs. "Just this once."

*********

"So, Fai-kun?" Kurama's mother smiled kindly. "Will your mother be home?"

"My mother?" I chuckled slightly. "No, Minamino-san, I don't live with my family, so…" Suddenly the car pulled to a hard stop and she turned around to face me, a fierce look in her eyes.

"So you'd be staying alone?" She questioned.

"Well, during the day; I have a roommate but she has school and-" I was cut off.

"You'll stay with us!" Kurama's mother smiled.

"What!" I objected. "Minamino-san, this is unnecessary! I'll be fine… Shuichi! Help me! She's your mother!"

"I have to agree with my mom, Faiyuki-san, it would be better if you had somebody to keep an eye on you during the day. You're certainly not in any condition to go to school." Kurama chuckled slightly.

"Traitor…" I mumbled.

"So it's settled!" Kurama's mom smiled as she pulled away from the curb. "We can call your roommate and arrange everything!"

*********

"Mo-mo!" I whined into the phone. "Help me! I can't stay here! I don't want Minamino-san wasting her food and money on meeeeee! ACHOOOO! Geh…"

"Well, it's actually more convenient for me this way." I could practically hear the smirk in Mo-mo's voice. "Koenma is getting me to watch Hiei, so he doesn't go and get himself killed. It's actually really funny; he can barely walk right now!"

"So you're taking Sparkey-chan over me?!" I pouted. "You're all traitors…"

"Sorry!" Mo-mo chuckled. "Have fun!" Then she hung up.

I stared at the phone in shock.

"So it's settled. You can have the guest room, Fai-chan!" Minamino-san smiled. "It's so much better now that I know you're a girl, it probably would have been more uncomfortable for you if you really were a boy." Suddenly a loud sneeze, followed by a stream of coughing was heard from upstairs.

"Wasn't me!" I said as I hung up the phone. "Looks like Shuichi's sick too!" I grinned as if I just won a prize. "HA!"

"Well, it looks like I'll be taking care of the both of you then." Kurama's mother smiled. "And please, call me Shiori."


	42. Chapter 42

**Hey, guys. Teresa here ^^ I just wanted to say WOW. On the previous chapter we got four reviews in one day, and that day happened to be the day we submitted :O You guys are the best! Every review makes our day, so thanx so much for the support :)**

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***MO-MO'S POV***

I hung up the phone with a chuckle. Fai's stuck with Kurama and his mom who will no doubt pamper her until she's ready to kill herself. Oh, I wish I could be there to see her suffering! It amuses me to no end.

"What the hell was that about?" Hiei muttered from the living room.

"Nuthin. Fai's just gonna be staying a Kurama's place for a while." I replied with a smile.

"Good! I'd rather not be stuck in the same house as her when I already feel like cra-ACHOO!" Hiei groaned in annoyance as he wiped nose on his sleeve.

"Use a Kleenex, dammit!" I shouted as I tossed a box of tissues, nailing him in the head. He sent me a harsh glare as he rubbed his head and then reluctantly blew his nose. "That's a good boy." I grinned playfully, only to receive a worst glare.

"AHHH! I CAN'T STAND THIS!" Hiei shouted as he raised his fist, and then brought it down full force onto the living room's coffee table. Usually, it would have easily broken under his strength, but Hiei's fist bounced off the wood, causing him to cry out in pain. God, he was almost _weaker_ than the average human.

"Just sit down and relax... I'll go make something to eat." I tried to calm him down. "Hm... How does chicken noodle soup sound? It's simple and yummy."

Hiei growled. "I _can't_ relax... A... ACHOO! And I don't _want_ any of your human food, least of all this chicken soup and noodles, or whatever!"

I slammed my elbow into his head, causing him to fall onto the couch. "You sound like a child, so quit throwing temper tantrums! And the best way to get better is to rest and eat _chicken noodle soup_. So here," I threw Hiei the remote to the TV. "Rest and I'll bring you food."

Hiei was staring at the remote curiously when I left him. It occurred to me that he's probably never watched TV before, but rather than helping him out, it was more amusing to let him try and figure it out for himself. Luckily he was too weak to damage anything in a fit of rage. I retreated to the kitchen where I started cooking a a small pot of chicken noodle soup. God, cooking for Hiei, and telling Hiei what to do... I feel like a mother... And that's just weird...

After a short while, the soup was ready, so I poured it into two bowls (I wanted some too) and then headed out into the living room. "Food's rea...dy..." I trailed off as a familiar, yet torturous sound came from the television.

_I love you, you love me. We're a happy family..._

I stared speechless. Of all the things that little technology impaired fire demon could find on TV it just _had_ to be Barney. I turned to Hiei with a horrifically annoyed expression on my face. He stared back with a terrified expression on his face. "You know... This isn't helping me to relax." He muttered.

I twitched. "Yeah... That's not surprising..." I took the remote from him and changed the channel to something watchable. "Here. Eat." I passed him a bowl of soup.

Rather than eat it, he placed it down on the table. "I don't want any."

I sighed in frustration. "Eat it." I said harshly.

"I said I don't want any!" He shouted as he turned his head away from me.

"Look, this is _my_ house, and _I'm_ in charge of you until you get better! So eat your chicken noodle soup!" I yelled as I grabbed his soup, took the spoon and shoved it into his mouth. His eyes widened, and he instinctively swallowed. Though afterwards he relaxed a little.

"It's... good..." He muttered.

"Of course it is! It's chicken noodle soup!" I said matter-of-factly as I put another spoonful into his mouth. But then we both froze as a realization dawned on us.

"I JUST SPOON-FED YOU!" I shouted in unison with:

"YOU JUST SPOON-FED ME!"

Our faces went red as we turned away from each other. God, I can't believe I did that! But he was acting like such a child... And he _is_ really small... _But still!_

Suddenly, Hiei got up and started walking out the front door. "This is stupid! I can take care of myself, so bye!"

"Hey wait!" I shouted as I ran out after him. "God dammit, Hiei, why do you have to be so difficult?!" I grabbed his arm to hold him back. He tried to resist, but it was no use. In his condition, I was stronger than him.

"Let me go." He commanded.

I rolled my eyes. "Just get back inside, and I promise I'll leave you alone."

"I don't think s- ACHOO!" Hiei growled in frustration. "JUST LET ME GO!" He then brought his hand up and slapped me.

I stared with wide eyes. It's not like it hurt that much, or anything... But the action itself surprised me. I mean, was I being _that_ bad to him? He also stared back at me with wide eyes. It was sort of like a 'did I just do that?' look. I suppose he didn't consciously want to hit me...

I was just about to say something when, out of nowhere, a fist came flying from the side and smashed into Hiei's face, sending him flying.

"HOLY SHIT!" I jumped with surprise. "Hiei, are you alright?!"

He sat himself up, his face a mixture of confusion, anger and surprise. "What the hell..." He muttered.

I looked over to see the source of the unexpected attack, only to find... "DAICHI?!" I shouted as the thug leader of Kasanegafuchi, who has a major crush on me, stood before us. God, I had totally forgotten about him.

"Sachiko Hiei, you scum! How dare you hit a woman like that?!" He exclaimed as he crossed his arms and struck a manly pose.

"How dare I hit her...?" Hiei muttered as he slowly stood up. "HOW DARE _YOU_ HIT ME! DO YOU HAVE A DEATH WISH?!"

"H-Hiei, just calm down..." I muttered to him cautiously. Suddenly an arm wrapped itself around me.

"There's no need to stand up for him just because he's your boyfriend." Daichi said to me in a soothing voice that really irritated me. "If he's mistreating you, then you shouldn't hesitate to break up with him!"

"Look, it's really okay..."

"No it's not!" Daichi exclaimed as he looked me intensely in the eyes. "I saw him hit you! For a woman such as you to be in an abusive relationship is unforgivable!" I sighed, and looked away letting my annoyance seep out into my expression. Would this guy get a clue already? "But don't worry. I, your noble and brave knight shall face this villain and win your heart!" Blah, Blah, Blah... He's like my own, personal Kuwabara. If this is what Yukina has to constantly go through, I'm gonna have a talk with her and the fool.

"Noble and brave knight? Win her heart? You really are a fool." Hiei muttered as he clenched his fists and stared at the human with a strange determination in his eyes. "In case you haven't noticed, SHE CAN'T STAND YOU!" Hiei shouted as he lunged at Daichi. With speed that could be called normal, he punched the boy in the face, sending him staggering back a few steps.

Daichi smirked. "Your punch is nothin special."

Hiei growled, and then paused. "ACHOO!" Suddenly Daichi got in front of him and punched him in the face yet again, sending him flying.

"Ha! Pretending to be sick won't phase me!" Daichi stated confidently.

"YOU DUMBASS!" I shouted as I punched Daichi hard in the ribs, sending him to the ground beside Hiei. "He _is_ sick!"

The two boys struggled to get back on their feet.

"Stay out of this! It's my fight, and I'm gonna teach him a lesson." Hiei muttered.

"Leave everything to me, Mo-mo. I'll save you from this demon!" (that was a metaphor, btw... or perhaps irony...) Daichi exclaimed.

"Swell..." I muttered. Before I knew it, the boys had decided to move the fight to an open field behind Kasane School. As well, a large crowd of students had somehow found out about this and gathered. I felt like I was watching one of those Roman coliseum fights.

Hiei and Daichi started to attack each other relentlessly. Daichi threw a punch, Hiei ducked down and then kicked up, and Daichi blocked that. Hiei sneezed, leaving himself open to attack, and Daichi got him good in the ribs. Hiei staggered, and then jumped forward, nailing Daichi's face with his fist. Daichi stood his ground and then elbowed Hiei away. Hiei landed on the ground, and then flipped his body around and tripped Daichi. The human boy fell to the ground, and Hiei punched him in the ribs, causing him to cry out in pain and curl up. Hiei backed away, hoping that this was the end, but Daichi still got up.

The two boys stared each other down, waiting for the other to make the first move. They both looked exhausted, and were covered in cuts and bruises, but Hiei seemed worst off. He was sweating, and panting really badly, and looked as if he would pass out at any second. It was definitely because he's sick... He's now gone feverish!

"Hiei!" I called out. "Just give it up! You're sick, so for now we'll call the fight a draw! You guys can settle this later!"

"Sorry, but... I'm not gonna give up." Hiei stated as he raised his fist and ran at Daichi. He went for a punch, but Daichi dodged and then came at Hiei from the side, punching him to the ground. Hiei groaned as he struggled to get back on his feet. Again he tried to attack Daichi, but the human blocked and sent him to the ground once more. This time Hiei couldn't even get back on his feet.

"Just accept it; I've won." Daichi said to him. "I don't like bullying people who have already lost. Especially if it's making her sad." He nodded his head to me. The look on my face must have been displaying the horror I felt on the inside.

"Screw off... I won't... give up..." Hiei muttered.

"That's enough! Daichi, get the hell out of here!" I shouted as I went to Hiei's side. Although he tried to resist, I leaned him against my body and he fell unconscious.

"But, Mo-mo..." Daichi muttered.

"I SAID GET OUT OF HERE!" I screamed with absolute rage. Reluctantly, Daichi backed off and left. The crowd of students BOOed for some reason, but I ignored them. I lifted Hiei onto my back and then started to walk off.

**********

"Ugh..." Hiei groaned as he came to. "Where am I?"

"On my back." I answered. He stiffened awkwardly. "Don't even ask if you can walk. We're almost home." He sighed, meaning compliance.

"Look... I'm sorry for... troubling you like this." He muttered.

"Yeah, well you shouldn't be picking fights when you're not feeling well." I sighed. For a while the two of us were silent. It was hard to imagine what he could be thinking. "So... Out of curiosity, why were you so eager to win that fight? I mean, it's not like you lost because of something you did wrong. We both know you could have easily beaten him on a normal day."

Hiei paused for a moment, as he seemed to drift off into thought. "He just bothers me... I can't stand the way he treats you."

"Excuse me?" I said, a little taken aback. I thought Hiei was going to say something like, he's too much like Kuwabara, or that he's annoying or something.

"He's always forcing his presence onto you, when you clearly don't want to be around him, and he thinks he knows everything about you and what's good for you, when he really doesn't have a clue." Hiei sighed. "I can't stand it when people act that way."

I smiled. "Thanks for the honesty."

I felt Hiei twitch awkwardly. "Yeah, well... For a human, you're not bad."

"Awww, c'mon. There's no need to be shy. I know you like me." I teased.

"Wh-wha... That's not it... I just a.. ACHOOO!" Hiei sniffled, and groaned from the embarrassment. I tried to restrain it, but I couldn't help laughing out loud. "G-give it a rest..." He muttered, though I continued laughing. But I could tell from the tone in his voice that he was probably smiling as well.

"What have we here? Two lovebirds perhaps?" A cold, deep voice rang out, causing my laughter to cease, while Hiei tensed.

"Who's there?" I called out as I looked around. I turned around only to come face-to-face with two glowing crimson eyes. "WOAH!" I exclaimed, as I accidentally dropped Hiei and then tripped over him as I tried to back away. Both of us groaned as we picked ourselves up.

"So you're the other one, the one called Mo-mo..." The stranger said as he looked me over. He was a tall man with long black hair and, as I said before, crimson eyes.

"Okay, first of all, how do you know who I am? And second, what do you mean by 'the other one'?" I demanded with as much confidence as I could muster. But there was something about this guy that sent a spark of terror throughout my body.

"Kyo told me of two extraordinary women who were both quite talented." The man smirked. "Of course, you are one. And the other is your friend Faiyuki, whom I met the other day. Didn't she tell you about me?"

"Um... No?" I shrugged.

"Enough of this bullshit. What the hell do you want with Mo-mo?" Hiei asked harshly.

"I want her much in the same way that you do." The man replied.

"What?!" Hiei exclaimed.

Suddenly the man appeared behind me and wrapped his arms around me. "You know what I mean..." He then pulled me into a kiss. I tried to struggle free, but he was way too strong. Finally he released me and smirked. "I know you imagine doing that to her... among other things."

"Screw off, you perverted freak!" Hiei shouted as he lunged at the man. However, the stranger lifted his foot and kicked Hiei away with ease. Hiei skidded painfully across the pavement quite a ways. When he stood up, his nose and mouth were bleeding severely.

"It's not wise to fight someone who can read your thoughts." The man said. "Though, you're so weak right now I don't even need to use that ability."

"What did you say?!" Hiei shouted in shock.

The stranger smirked. "You see, I can enter the minds of fire demons. If you want to know more about me, just talk to your father, Koray. He and I are old acquaintances. Oh, and my name is Serafin, by the way." Suddenly black aura began to surround us.

"Dammit!" I shouted as I tried to break free of Serafin's arms and get away. However, he held onto me tightly, and brought his face down so that he was breathing on my neck. I saw Hiei running over to us as the black aura consumed Serafin and me, but I could tell he wasn't going to make it in time. Finally, we were completely consumed by darkness, and everything faded into nothingness.


	43. Chapter 43

***AIYOKU FAIYUKI'S POV***

"Kurama! Lie down!" I shouted with a pout at the red head who insisted on preparing lunch.

"But Faiyuki-san, you're sick." He stated simply.

"If you haven't noticed, you are too." I said with a dead-panned look. I sighed, who knew he'd be so difficult?

"Well then who prepares lunch? My mother's gone out for an hour." Kurama asked.

"Kurama, do you know what _Blackjack _is?" I smiled deviously.

"It's a card game, based off luck. I've neve-" I cut Kurama off.

"Do you have a deck of cards?" I asked with an even wider smile.

"Yes, but-" Kurama tried to argue.

"Then it's settled! Go get them and I'll wait right here! If I win you have to let me take care of you!" I said as I pointed an accusing finger.

"Fine!" Kurama said loudly and, I'll add, uncharacteristically. "If I win then you'll let me take care of you!"

I blinked, shocked by the, well, simplicity our natural-born-genius was using. It was probably the fever. I then nodded my head, entirely assured in my victory.

*********

"I win again!" I said cheerfully as I slapped the two cards I had been dealt onto the floor.

"How?" Kurama asked, totally astounded. "Every time her first two cards, a royal and an ace. But I'm dealing… It makes no sense…"

"IT IS MY WITCH POWAH!" I grinned as I took on a hero pose.

"Witch… power?" Kurama blinked.

"Mhmm!" I grinned as I returned to my seat. "No matter who I play, or who deals, I always get an ace and a royal, or a royal and a joker, when the joker's a free card that is, or an ace and a joker. I have never lost in this game!"

"That's unfair." Kurama sighed.

"TOO BAD!" I pointed at him. "Now you lie down, and I'm going to make soup!"

We cleaned up the cards and I sent Kurama off to the couch. I walked into the kitchen and started to make a pot of vegetable soup. Screw chicken noodle, the stuff always throws my stomach off. I had just brought the liquid to a simmer when a dark feeling drifted over me.

I stalked into the living room. "Kurama?" I called out. "You okay?"

"Yes." He smiled at me from his sitting position on the couch. "I'm fine, is something wrong?"

"No, I… never mind. And HEY!" I pointed at him. "Lie yer butt down!"

"Yes ma'am." He chuckled as he rested back onto the cushions.

"Good boy." I smiled as I turned and walked back towards the kitchen. "Craaap!" I whined. "The soup's gunna burn!" I ran into the kitchen and went to stir the hot liquid, then I noticed the bubbles had stopped. "Huh?" I wondered, looking under the pot for the flame. "It's… off?" I asked quietly, "But I… I left it on." Suddenly a familiar presence washed over me. "No." I whimpered, as I turned around and sprinted towards the living room.

"Who are you?" I heard Kurama ask as I neared the door.

"That is none of _your_ business boy." A terrifyingly familiar voice growled. "_You're_ not who I'm looking for. In fact, the one I search for is very close." I shoved the door open and sprinted to a defensive position in front of Kurama.

"Stay away!" I shouted.

"Hello there, Little Princess." The familiar crimson-eyed stranger smiled.

"I'm no princess, you wanna-be emo with a too big ego!" I shouted.

"Not yet, you aren't." His smile stretched into a malicious smirk as he disappeared and reappeared in front of me, forcing his lips back on mine.

I struggled, but in my weakened state I had even less hope than before.

"**DON'T TOUCH HER!**" An enraged yell came from Kurama, as he brought a chair he had grabbed down onto the stranger's back.

"Pest…" He muttered, as he dropped me to the floor. "Well, pests just have to be dealt with, right? It's not like I have any use of you." A cruel smile spread across the man's face as he grabbed Kurama around the throat and pushed him up against the wall.

"No!" I screamed out, as I grabbed onto the man's arm and tried to pull it away from my companion. "Don't touch him! Leave Kurama alone!" I screamed out as I beat my fists down on his arm in a futile attempt to remove it.

"Well aren't you the loyal little doll." The cruel smirk turned to face me as he dropped Kurama and grabbed me by the wrist. "I think you'll make a great toy." Tears sprang to my eyes as he gripped my wrist harder, bruising the soft skin.

"Ouch… that hurts…" I whimpered quietly. He pulled up on my wrist, so I was hanging off the ground.

"Do you know, Princess," A deceitful smile stared mockingly at me, "That where I come from its common practice to take up to three wives at one time, and that they're usually younger women?" I struggled futilely as my arm and shoulder felt the strain of holding up my whole body. "I think I'll take you home and make you my doll, Little Princess."

"No! Let me go! **LET! ME! GO!**" I screamed as I kicked my feet back and forth.

Meanwhile Kurama had recovered and was searching around for a better weapon than a chair. He suddenly turned around with a sharp edge of a china-plate that broken earlier, and lunged at the large man. In a whirr of movement Kurama was disarmed and brought down the floor, hard. A dagger that I hadn't seen before was pressed to his throat. I screamed as loud as I could from my position, now on the floor, in an attempt to get help.

"NO!" I screamed. "DON'T TOUCH HIM! DON'T!" I wailed as tears began to streak my face. "Please… Don't hurt him…" I whimpered as I hugged my arms to myself.

"Tch. That loyalty will be her downfall." The stranger smirked to Kurama, then turned to face me, "We can make a deal, Faiyuki." He said in a serious tone. I knew he wasn't joking and I wasn't getting second chances. "What do you think can stop me?" He mocked. I knew very well what he wanted.

"You know what will stop you, so why do I have to say it?" I asked in a quavering voice.

"Because," A seemingly kind smile broke out on the stranger's face. "If you say it out loud, then I will have beaten this pathetic being in all terms of the word. He's been physically over powered, and what do you think it will do to him when you…" He didn't have to finish. All he wanted now was to attack Kurama's dignity, the last thing he really had left in this situation. Kurama'd lose all sense of pride if somebody he cared for had to sacrifice himself to protect him.

"Fine." I muttered as I stared directly into the crimson orbs that looked down on every other being. "I'll go with you; I'll do as you say. I'll behave myself as long as you leave Kurama alone; you can't hurt him in aggression anymore." Tears streamed down my face as the man laughed loudly.

"No! Faiyuki-san-!" Kurama yelled from under his assailant.

"_That's not good enough!_" He roared in my mind. "_No, tell him you want to go with me! That he isn't good enough for you!_" I flinched.

"No, I…" I whimpered as the flow of tears sped up.

"_DO IT! DO IT OR I'LL KILL HIM!_" The crimson eyes flared in rage at my defiance and I flinched again at the telepathic attack, and stood up to look into the eyes of one of my closest companions.

"Kurama," I murmured. "I want to go with him. I- You… You weren't strong enough to protect me so…" I wiped my tears away with my sleeve, showing my bruised wrist. "I don't want to see you again."

Kurama's eyes widened in pain as he stared at me, horrified. I looked away, ashamed, but I couldn't have done anything else in the situation.

"See, not even she believes in you, you weak little boy." Black hair covered Kurama's eyes as the stranger whispered in his ear. "She doesn't care about you, she knows that I could easily kill you both, all she cares about is getting out alive herself." I could see Kurama stiffen; he was probably being mentally assaulted as well. "Do you know what I'm going to do to her? Of course you do, I've just shown you. But I'll be able to protect her from others better than you ever could." The hiss could be heard even from where I stood.

Suddenly the stranger stood up and then kicked Kurama away. I walked over and stood next to him as a portal opened up behind us.

"Say good-bye to Mo-mo and the guys for me, Kurama." I said indifferently as I felt a hand wrap around my waist. Fighting the urge to shove away I stood still.

"Remember this boy, my name is Serafin. If you and your friends dare to challenge me, I will kill you all without a moment's hesitation." I blinked. That was the first time I had heard the man speak his name.

A single tear streaked down my cheek as Kurama reached out desperately, only to fall to the floor in a fit of coughing. "Good bye." Suddenly I was engulfed in blackness, and teleported to a place far away.

* * *

**Good God... it sucks to be playing the damsel in distress role... STUPID FEVER! .  
Anyway, look forward to actual plot development in the next chapter ^^**


	44. Chapter 44

***MO-MO'S POV***

"Fuck..." I muttered to myself. How the hell do I manage to get myself into these situations?! First the vampires and now I'm chained up in some dungeon because a ridiculously powerful pervert decided to take some interest in me... Karma had better pay me back in full for this!

"Well, don't you look irritated today." Kyo stated with a cocky smile as he entered my cell.

"Well, if it isn't _Captain Obvious_!" I spat out with heavy sarcasm. "How's your head feeling after the little pounding I gave it?" I smiled irritably at him.

"Very funny..." Kyo muttered, clearly unamused. "You had better fix that attitude problem before seeing Lord Serafin again."

"Sorry, but I don't give a rat's ass about that guy." I scoffed.

"Know your place, wench!" Kyo shouted as he grabbed my throat and looked me in the eye. "Don't forget that here you're at _our_ mercy! Misbehave, and we'll have to punish you."

"Do what you want." I shrugged indifferently. But then I felt a hard, painful impact in my torso as Kyo punched my ribs. "AHHH!" I instinctively screamed out. Kyo dropped me, and I curled up, gripping my wound.

"Hm. Pathetic." Kyo muttered as he kicked my face.

"Now, now, Kyo... Be nice." A cold, familiar voice muttered. I looked up to see Serafin standing at the door to my cell. "After all, she is a special guest."

"Ah... Lord Serafin! You're back sooner than expected." Kyo stuttered with a bow of his head.

"Yes, the fox-child proved to be weaker than I thought." Serafin sighed. "Though, I did manage to amuse myself with him."

Damn, he's obviously talking about Kurama, which means... "Where's Faiyuki?!" I demanded.

Serafin smirked. "Oh, she's around here somewhere. But I have no reason to let you see her. Not yet, anyway."

I growled. "Fine, then answer this: What do you want with us?"

"There's no harm in telling you, I suppose." Serafin smiled. "You see, I'm planning to wage war against Spirit World."

"HUH?!" I gasped. Didn't see that one coming. "And why would you want to do that?"

"My reasons are none of your business." He stated firmly. "All you need to know is that I hate the bastards in charge of that place, and I plan to destroy them all. But it's a lot of work to take down such a well-organized establishment. So I've decided to enlist some help. That's where you and your friend come in."

I twitched. "Come on, you can't seriously think me and Fai are gonna betray our friends!"

"Oh, I have my ways..." Serafin smirked.

"What the hell does that mean?!" I shouted impatiently.

"Kyo, why don't you unchain her, and we'll let her see with her own eyes." Serafin smiled.

Kyo nodded, and then obeyed. My wrists and ankles ached from where the shackles had been, but I ignored it for the time being. I followed Serafin up a large set of stone stairs, and then we passed through many plain hallways. Kyo was walking behind me, and was no doubt making sure that I wouldn't run away. But escape was not at the front of my mind at the moment. I needed to make sure Fai was okay first, and then find a way to get out of here together.

"In here..." Serafin said as he opened a door for me. I walked in to find a regular bedroom. However, on the far end of the room sitting in a chair beside the window was Faiyuki.

"FAI!" I called out as I ran over to her. "Are you alright? You don't _look_ hurt, but..." That's weird. She isn't responding to me in the slightest. I looked her in the eyes, but there didn't seem to be any life there... And her face was completely emotionless. "Fai... Fai, talk to me!" I shook her a few times, but there was still no reaction. I turned to Serafin, and shot him a death glare. "_What the hell did you do to her?_"

"Nothing much." Serafin smirked. "It's just a spell to control her body. For someone at my level, its a simple matter."

"You lie..." I muttered through gritted teeth.

"Not at all. My favourite part about this particular enchantment is that the person I control is actually conscious and aware of what I'm making them do. For instance, if I wanted Faiyuki to do this..."

Suddenly Fai stood up and slapped me. Then she stared at me with a hateful expression. "I hate you Mo-mo... Why did you let this happen to me? I thought we were friends..." Although I knew it wasn't really her saying that, it still hurt.

"She's aware that I made her do that. And although it pains her, she can't do a thing about it." Serafin smiled.

"Who the hell are you...?" I asked him curiously. "You want to destroy Spirit World, and Kyo obeys your every command even though he's the ruler of fire demons..."

Serafin smirked. "While it is true that Kyo is the ruler, I am a being who out-ranks him by far. I am known as the God of the fire demons."

I stared with a gaping mouth. "Oh..." I said simply. I knew better than doubt his words at this point, but seriously, a GOD?! There goes any hope I had of getting out of this.

"In any case, I'm an understanding person who realizes that you and Faiyuki really don't want to be here." Serafin said. "So I'll give you a chance to win your freedom."

"How generous..." I muttered with disbelief. "So, what do we, or rather, what do I have to do?"

"You must simply defeat an opponent that I present to you. If you win, both you and Faiyuki will be free to go. However, if you lose, I'll be using the two of you as my pawns in this war against Spirit World, and on top of that I will marry you."

"Marry us?! Eww..." I muttered. The prospect was less than enthralling, but I knew that if I refused he would just take over my body anyway. "Alright... You've got a deal."

**********

I found myself standing in a large circular room that was pretty much empty. Serafin and Kyo sat in a balcony with Fai at their side, watching from above. My opponent was a female fire demon who had black hair and red eyes, just like all the others. Her hair was tied up in a ponytail, and her crimson eyes stared at me with a shocking blood thirst. Her slim body was clothed by a short, black kimono with red flowers, and she wielded two katanas.

"Her name is Ariya." Serafin explained from his perch. "And she is currently my only wife. Ariya, this is Mo-mo. Feel free to beat her as much as you please, but I'd appreciate it if you could leave her alive."

"Yes, my lord." Ariya replied. Her voice was soft and beautiful, like a melody. She then got into a ready position and I followed suit, summoning my scythe.

Suddenly, she disappeared. I felt her aura behind me, and turned around, blocking an otherwise lethal attack. Although she was surprised for a moment, she began swinging her swords relentlessly at me. So far, I was able to block them, but she seemed to be getting faster. I struggled more and more to defend myself, until finally she cut a deep wound into my shoulder. I then shot a blast of aura at her, but she jumped to the side so that it only grazed her cheek.

"For a human, you've got some skill." She said, eyeing me cautiously.

"Heh. I'm fighting to get me and Fai out of here. I'm not about to lose." I smirked.

"Hmph. You should be honoured that Lord Serafin wants to take you on as a wife, even though you're just a human." Ariya said.

"As I've said before, I don't care about your Lord in the slightest!" I exclaimed as I channelled my aura through my scythe, and launched it at her. She dodged, and the sent a barrage of flames in at me. I blocked it by creating a shield of aura, and then jumping into the air. I brought my scythe down onto her, but she jumped away. She threw a ball of fire at me, and I sliced it in half with my scythe. But then she appeared behind me, and slashed up my entire back.

I let out a cry of pain as I fell to the ground. I could feel blood flowing from the open wound. Ariya stepped up and kicked me in the face. "You're so weak; I don't feel like playing with you anymore."

"What a pity..." I muttered through heavy breaths. Then I jumped up, and sent a blast of aura through her stomach. She screamed out a mixture of surprise and pain, but then brought up one of her swords, cutting a vertical line on my face and over my right eye.

I yelled out in pain, but before I fell to the ground, Ariya grabbed my neck and stabbed me with one of her swords.

As Ariya dropped me and I fell to the floor, everything seemed to be in slow motion. She was still standing despite her wound, and her face twisted into a superior smirk. The impact I felt from my wounded back hitting the floor sent a shock of pain throughout my body. Everything became fuzzy, and then faded to black.


	45. Chapter 45

***AIYOKU FAIYUKI'S POV***

"Kathryn!? Nickolas!?" I screamed out, but there was no reply. "Shadows?" I eventually murmured, but the place was a void of life, excluding me, of course. I sat down and sighed.

_"Fai-san..."_ A faint voice called out. Wait... It sounded like Kurama's voice. I looked around, but didn't see any sign of my red-headed friend. How awkward...

**Enjoying yourself?** A familiar voice echoed out.

"Shut up, Serafin." I whined. "Let me out of here! I wanna go home!" I cried out, hoping to use the 'innocence of a child' while I was, well, appearing four years old.

**Now why would I do that, it's much more entertaining this way**_._ He teased.

I glared at the sky. "I'll kill you for hurting Mo-mo." I stated simply, no longer trying to trick my way out of this situation.

**But I wasn't the one that hurt her…** Serafin said in a mock-pity voice. **You were.**

"Shut up!" I screamed. "That wasn't me!"

**It was your hand, wasn't it?** Serafin asked, as if he was talking to a child. **You were the one that spoke, was it not your voice?**

"Sh-shut up! It was you!" I yelled out, as I ran to one of the now crumbling buildings in my mental landscape.

**And what about with the fox boy, I had no control over you then.**

"I can't hear you, you're not real! LALALA!" I screamed out, quite immaturely. "Mary had a little lamb, little lamb, little lamb. Mary had a little lamb who's fleece was white as snow…" I sang under my breath, off tune, trying to block out the annoying voice. I stared in annoyance at the stairs that led up. They had crumbled into oblivion and were definitely not climb-able. "I need to redo this place…" I muttered, although surprised when Serafin didn't answer.

I turned away and wandered around the destroyed place I had built. In a way, I was sad. Sure I had recently been through living hell here, but I had some fond memories of the place as well.

"Hello." I jumped when a somewhat familiar voice rang out from behind me. I turned around and there was a boy around five years old. He smiled kindly at me. "How are you?"

"Not so good." I sighed sadly. "I wanna get out so I can help my friend, but I'm stuck."

"Who are you?" He asked, his crimson red eyes glinting curiously.

"Fai." I smiled, and he smiled back. "Why are you here?" I asked. "I mean, this is my mind."

"Kinda messy." The boy chuckled, as a soft wind blew some of his pitch black hair into his face. He brushed it away with a huff. "Well, I can help you!" He grinned. "I've had to clean up my mind before, so I know how to do it. It's kinda hard, so let's do it together, okay?" I blinked and nodded my head, following after the boy.

_"Fai-san! Don't go, it's dangerous!"_ Kurama's voice was so faint I could barely hear what he said. I listened closely, but nothing else came. I shrugged, and then continued to follow the boy. We wound up back in the grassy field that I had seen before, with Nickolas.

"Uhm…" I asked, feeling oddly shy, or maybe scared, around this person. "Do you know where Kathryn and Nickolas are?" I looked down. "I mean, they were here before, and I'm worried about them."

"Don't worry about them." The boy said, but in a slightly cruel tone. I blinked and looked up. "I mean..." He looked away awkwardly. "Just forget about them for now, you wouldn't be able to clean up with them around, they might distract you." He looked at me and frowned. "They should be here though, the only reason they wouldn't be is if they don't want…" He shook his head, "Never mind, we should get started, okay?" He reached out his hand.

I blinked, realising what he meant. They didn't want to be here. But I didn't blame them.

"Okay." I muttered quietly as I grabbed his outstretched hand.

"So what you have to do is calm down first, okay?" He smiled. "You need to be calm so you can focus really well." I nodded again and started to focus on my breathing, that's what most meditation things said would work to calm down. "Ready?" He asked, and I nodded my head.

"What now?" I asked.

"First you need to erase everything that's here."

"Erase!?" I shouted. "But wouldn't that-"

"Not at all." He smiled. "This place doesn't hold any memories or anything like that; it's just like a room that branches off from your mind."

"So it'll be okay?" I asked, really just wanting to have something to take my mind off everything that's been happening.

"Of course." He said with a slight smile. I nodded then looked at him curiously for instructions. "So what you have to do is picture this place as if it were something you could touch, like a sculpture or a drawing. Then you just need to destroy it."

I closed my eyes and tried to picture the massive area in my mind, eventually coming up with a sculpture like creation. I pictured myself picking it up, then throwing it down, and then it shattering into thousands of tiny pieces.

When I opened my eyes there was nothing but white space all around me, and the unnamed boy.

"It worked." I blinked. "So now do I just picture a new place?" I asked.

"NO!" He shouted, almost angry. "I mean…" He shook his head slightly. "If you do it like that it will eventually return to rubble. You have to…"

_"Fai-san, LOOK OUT!" _The voice of Kurama called out.

Suddenly he tackled me, throwing me onto my back, and straddled me. Suddenly we both began to grow. I could feel my body stretching as I grew, and I looked up and watched as his face twisted into more familiar features.

"Serafin?!" I exclaimed, as I struggled to escape from under him. We had both grown to our proper age and he was much larger than me, making it impossible.

"You're just going to have to let me set up for you, after all." He smiled as he leaned in closer. "It would be a shame if you were to escape before our marriage. Lucky for your feisty little friend, she won't have to go through this like you do. You know what your mind looks like, all the entrances and exits, she doesn't." His smile grew as he grabbed onto my arms and held them in place. "Now if you'll let me take over for the time being." He pushed his lips onto mine and I closed my eyes and continued to struggle against his weight. Suddenly mass formed underneath me and softened.

'_It feels like a cushion.'_ I thought, _'A mattress?'_

I winced as Serafin bit down on my lip, an attempt to gain access to my mouth no doubt. I just closed my lips tighter. He bit down again, harder, and I gasped in pain, unfortunately giving him the access he was looking for. I could taste blood from the cut on my lip, but besides that there was another, indescribable one. It wasn't pleasant, and I immediately bit down on his tongue. It surprisingly worked.

He jumped off me and glared as he wiped away blood that had trickled down his chin.

"You're going to regret that, Princess." Serafin growled, clearly pissed off. "You forget that I own you, and soon your friend too. I wonder if the fox boy will show up at our wedding." He finished in a condescending, cruel tone.

"Wedding?!" I yelled out, as I jumped off the bed. "Wait, no. Don't touch Kurama! Or Mo-mo!"

"So it's fine if it's you?" He whispered in my ear as he disappeared and reappeared behind me.

"Yes! Wait! NO! No it is NOT okay!" I shouted as I jumped away. He chuckled and I turned and glared at him.

"This will be fun, my little puppet." A cruel smirk spread across his lips as he began to fade out."I'll be seeing you later."

He was gone, and now I was stuck in a little room with every wall playing what I was seeing. Well that and a bed.

I sat on the mattress and stared at the window my body was staring out.

"I will find a way to kill him. But I need to find a way out of here first…" I sighed. "DAMMIT! What kind of idiot follows some little freak that shows up in your mind anyways?! Didn't the therapist from grade six tell you to NOT listen to the little voice inside your head? Then again, Kurama's voice was trying to give me good advice... GAH!" I kicked my legs up and laid back on the mattress. "This is going to be difficult." I muttered. "But I can't let him hurt my friends. I'll do it. I'll just have to slow down his plans first. I think I can restrain my powers so he can't use them. I'll just have to focus." I closed my eyes and focused on my breathing again.

_"You can do it, Fai-san."_ Kurama's voice rang out.


	46. Chapter 46

***MO-MO'S POV***

I opened my eyes slowly. At least, I think I did... Even when I felt my eyelids open, everything was still pitch black. I tried turning my head in every direction, but it was still the same black. I hated this kind of darkness. You could never tell where you were; you could be in a small, closed in room or a big open field. I reached out my hands, and tried walking forward, but I couldn't see my arms, and I didn't seem to be going anywhere.

"Heh. You look like an idiot." A strangely familiar voice rang out. It was female, and although it didn't sound like anyone I knew, I couldn't shake the feeling I had heard it before. I spun around, trying to determine its source, but I still couldn't see anything.

"Where are- Who are you?" I demanded.

"What, you don't know?" The voice said again. It seemed to be coming from all directions. "Why don't you just focus on getting rid of the darkness, and then maybe you'll be able to see me."

"O-okay..." I muttered. Then I closed my eyes and wished for the dark to be gone when I reopened my eyes. Sure enough, when I opened my eyes I could see. Not that there was much to see... My surroundings consisted of a black floor that seemed to go on forever and a red sky with no sun, moon or stars. Not too far away, stood a girl dressed in black.

"That wasn't so hard, was it?" She smiled, as she suddenly appeared right in front of me. Now that I could see her up close, she was almost exactly my height, she had brown hair that hung just above her shoulders, and her eyes were a glowing silver that seemed to look right into my soul. Strangely, even her appearance seemed familiar.

"I'm sorry, who are you again?" I blinked at her, trying to pinpoint who she was.

Her face fell into a pout. "You've got some nerve, insulting me like that. Especially since I came here to help you." She then turned around and started walking away. "Buuut, if you must know, my name is Sakura."

"Sakura..." I repeated to myself. It was such a common name. But then I suddenly remembered where I'd seen her before. "No... You can't be..."

"Hm?" She quickly turned around with a hopeful expression. "You remember me now?"

"Are you the Sakura... That I created in my mind when I was in grade five?" I asked carefully.

"Yep, that's right." She replied with a confident smirk. "I doubt you realize it, but this place _is_ your mind."

"I'm in my mind?" I looked around at the black floor and red sky. Cool colors, but other than that there really much to it. Kinda boring, actually. "What is this, some kind of near-death experience?"

"If you want to look at it that way, sure." Sakura shrugged. "This should be something like what your friend Brittany went through."

"Brittany..." I thought for a moment. "Oh, you mean Faiyuki."

"Yeah, yeah. Anyway... I guess you can consider me your guide for the time being... Since your consciousness has never actually been here before, I'm gonna show you around." Sakura explained.

"Great, so where do we start?" I asked.

"That's a good question..." Sakura muttered as she fell into thought. "Why don't we start with why I'm here to begin with. So? Why don't you tell me why I exist?"

I thought for a moment, but nothing came to mind. "Uhm... I can't really remember that far back."

"Oh yeah? Lemme help you out..." Suddenly the floor underneath me gave out. I fell through black, and then landed in a school field. I looked around, but there was no one there. It was odd, since school yards are usually where children play.

_But we don't want to play with you._

Many children's voices seemed to echo out. As they spoke, faces appeared, floating around me. The more voices that rang out the more faces appeared.

_I hate you._

_You're ugly._

_You're not cool._

_What are you doing here?_

_You're dumb._

_Just go away._

"SHUT THE HELL UP!" I shouted. Instantly everything vanished, and returned to black.

"You never were very good at making friends, were you?" Sakura said as she appeared beside me. "Is that why you created me? To fill the void that's so obviously missing?" I sent her a glare, but she ignored me. "But that can't be it... You never talked to me, or treated me like a friend. So why, I wonder, do I exist in your mind..."

"I didn't have friends because there was something wrong with me! It has nothing to do with you!" I shouted at her.

"That's cold..." She muttered. "But you know, there really wasn't anything wrong with you. It was just that you didn't know how to make people like you for who you were. So looking at it that way, you felt you needed to change things about yourself so that people would like you."

"Just leave me alone! It doesn't matter anymore, because I _have_ friends, and people like me!"

Sakura smirked. "You really are pathetic. Can't you even admit your flaws to yourself?"

"Of course I can! But you're not me, so I don't have to answer to you!" I yelled as I focused all my energy on making her disappear. It was my mind, after all, so it should work.

"You can't just shut me out like you did with those memories." Sakura smiled as she approached me. "After all, I am the you that you always wanted to be."

"What the hell does that mean?!" I demanded.

"When you were a child, you created me, Sakura, as a way to pass time while other children were spending time with their 'friends'. And into me, you placed all the traits that you wish you had, and kept all the traits that you liked. In other words, I'm your ideal self. Which means that in this world, I have just as much power as you do."

"Like hell, you do! Even if you're the perfect me, I'm still the real me!" I spat out, but she ignored me.

"But here's where things get controversial..." Sakura said as she started to pace. "Even though I say I'm the _ideal _you, I still have my flaws... That you put into me, of course. In fact, you take great pleasure in bringing out my flaws by putting me into various scenarios where I suffer to no end, whether it be physical suffering, or psychological suffering. The fact that I can suffer makes me imperfect."

"Perfection is boring and over-rated; I'd shoot myself if I lived such an empty life!" I shouted out.

"And yet, you lead an almost-perfect life; never angering anyone, not getting into trouble, doing what you're told to do... Why is that? How can you stand to live a life that you hate?"

"If I purposely did all that stuff, then I'd have to face the consequences." I replied.

"Oh? And what consequences would those be?" Sakura looked at me with a questioning expression. "Getting grounded? Receiving detention? Going to jail? I don't think any of those would bother you too much... No, what you're afraid of is people hating you."

"What's your point?" I asked harshly.

"The point is, that you live the way you do because you seek the approval of others. You need them to justify your existence." Sakura snapped her fingers, and all around me appeared the faces of all the close friends I've ever had. "If these people weren't in your life, who would you be? If you were die suddenly, and you had no friends, who would say that 'Marise' existed?"

"That's not it! Only I can justify my own existence! I exist for me!" I screamed out, as I closed my eyes and continued to wish for this girl to just go away. Sakura snapped her fingers again, and I heard the loud echoing voiced of my parents.

_You're going to fail._

_What are you going to with yourself?_

_Why can't you do your best at everything?_

_Schoolwork is more important than anything._

_Get your head out of the clouds and face reality._

"GET OUT OF MY HEAD! LEAVE ME ALONE!" I shouted out, and the voices stopped. "I hate my parents... I hate them..."

"You only say that because you know they're telling you the truth, but you don't want to listen." Sakura said as she grabbed my chin and forced me to look straight into her silver eyes. "You should be able to admit that you half-ass everything you don't think is important. You did it in school, and you even did it with this place. Why do think it's so barren in here? Because you can't be _bothered_ to come up with something better."

"I know all this already! Why do you have to do this to me?!" I screamed at her.

Sakura ignored me and continued. "You try to use me as an excuse to ignore your flaws; because a better _you_ already exists, but the truth is you're just too lazy to change yourself. So instead, you create a facade to hide behind, in which everyone will accept you because your _kind_, _respectful_, _you make it seem like you care about stuff that you don't_, and you never cause problems for anyone. Personally, I think it's pathetic."

"You're wrong; I haven't done any of that since I met Fai... And then when I became a Spirit Detective! You're argument's outdated!"

"Oh yeah?" Sakura grinned. "Come to think of it, since you became a Spirit Detective I've been almost completely ignored. It's your idea of a perfect life, isn't it? No parents, getting super-powers, fighting demons... It's the life you've always dreamed of. But what if this fairytale you've been leading for the past couple of months were to disappear? Could you honestly say that you wouldn't go back to being the way you were?"

I diverted my eyes, and didn't respond. Suddenly Sakura punched me hard, sending me to the ground.

"You're a fool! You take everything you have for granted! Isn't it about time you had a reality check?!" Sakura shouted as she kicked me. "You need to learn to appreciate what you have, while you have it! You selfish, lazy-"

"Leave her alone!" A new voice called out. My head shot up, and I saw Sakura dodge a sword strike from Hiei.

"HIEI?!" I called out with relief.

"Hmph. So you finally showed up." Sakura muttered as she and Hiei stared at each other. "Well, either way, I've said what I need to. You two have fun." She then disappeared.

"Hiei, I'm so glad to see you!" I exclaimed, as I ran up to him and brought him into a hug. He stiffened from the awkwardness, but didn't try to resist. "But, why are you here?" I asked as I let him go.

"Couldn't say. I was just pulled in, like with that annoying cat." He explained. "But, um... Are you alright? I mean, after that Serafin bastard kidnapped you, I've been..."

"I'm okay." I smiled weakly. "But speaking of Serafin... You gotta tell the others that Serafin wants to start a war with Spirit World! I don't know why, but he says he plans to use me and Fai somehow!"

"A war..." Hiei muttered with disbelief. "Fine, I'll have the others tell Koenma. In the meantime, you and the cat try and hold out as long as you can. I got that fool, Koray, to admit he knows where Serafin's hiding with you two, so we're coming to get you."

"Thanks..." I smiled. "I knew I could count on you."

Hiei blushed, and then looked away. "And listen... Don't let that Sakura girl get to you. Everyone seeks the approval of others. It's a common thing, especially in humans. All you can do is try to stay true to who you are. And you should know that I... The others and I like you... So you have nothing to worry about."

"Hiei..." I sniffled as tears started to fill my eyes. But before I could say anything else, and pair of hands wrapped around me, one of them covering my mouth. The red sky swirled and everything became completely black, except for me, Hiei and the person who had latched onto me.

"You... Let her go!" Hiei shouted, as he charged with his sword ready.

"Sorry, but it's time for you to leave." I heard Serafin's voice say right above me ear. Suddenly the darkness began to consume Hiei, who struggled to free himself.

"You bastard... You better not hurt her!" Hiei muttered through his struggle.

"Don't worry, Hiei. We'll meet again soon; since I take it Koray will be guiding you to where I am. Who knows, maybe you'll make it in time for the wedding." Serafin said in an amused tone.

"Wedding?!" Hiei exclaimed as he had now been almost completely consumed. "Dammit! You better pray we _don't_ meet again! Cause next time I see you, I'll kill you!" Hiei shouted as he was completely swallowed.

I tried to force myself out of Serafin's arms, but as usual, it was no use. Suddenly, the darkness around us shattered like glass and I found us standing in a small white room. Serafin released me and I ran to the other side room, and sent him a glare.

"What's this? Don't you enjoy being embraced by me?" Serafin smirked. "Or perhaps you would prefer if it was Hiei..."

"Just shut up and get the fuck out of my mind!" I shouted, my voice bleeding with rage. Jeez, where's that _all-powerful_ Sakura when you need her?!

"Sorry, but I think I'll play with you a bit first." Serafin said as he appeared in front of me. He pushed me against the wall and forced his lips onto mine. I instinctively tried to push him away even though I knew he was too strong for me. Suddenly I heard the sound of a person being struck, and Serafin's lips left mine as he flew away from me.

"You called?" Sakura stated with smirk, as she held her fist up; indicating that she had been the one who hit him.

"Thanks! I didn't think you would actually come!" I exclaimed.

"Heh. I've caught this guy wandering around here a few times. And quite frankly, I'd rather you not be taken over by such a pig."

"You..." Serafin growled as he got to his feet. "How did you get in here?"

"Oh please, you should be able to figure it out for yourself." Sakura scoffed. Serafin glared at her. Come to think of it, this was the first time I'd seen him troubled by anything. "And you..." She said turning to me. "Being lazy again? Or are you really unable to stand up for yourself?"

"What are you talking about; he's way stronger than I am!" I objected.

"This is _your_ mind." Sakura said to me. "If you believe that you can beat him, then here you can! The one with the stronger conscious prevails, after all."

"Oooh." I smiled. That was beyond reassuring... That was... wonderful. So I could kick Serafin's ass, if I wanted.

"Well isn't this disappointing..." Serafin muttered. "It looks like I'll just have to hurry up and marry you now, then slowly work on breaking you."

"There's no way in hell you're gonna get me to marry you!" I said while giving him the finger.

"You don't have a choice in the matter." Serafin smirked. "In case you haven't realized, I've already got you under a body-control spell, just like Faiyuki. So I can make you marry me, while you can't escape from your mind until I allow it."

I turned to Sakura with a hopeful expression, but she twitched and said, "You don't have the training required to overcome such a powerful spell. Looks like you're stuck with me for the time being."

"Aww, shit..." I muttered to myself.

"But don't worry; I've arranged things in here so that you can see the ceremony..." Suddenly the walls around us became giant screens, and on them I could see myself being fitted into a wedding dress. "Enjoy." Serafin smirked before disappearing with a wave of his hand.

For a moment, Sakura and I stood there in silence. "GAHHH!" I burst out. "Come on, isn't there _something_ I can do?!"

"About the body-control spell? Nope, not a thing." Sakura said simply as she sat down, leaning against one of the walls.

"So what am I supposed to do now?! I really, _really_ don't want to end up married to that son-of-a-bitch!" I shouted.

"All you can do now is sit down, and hope that your boyfriend makes it in time to save you." Sakura sighed.

"Swell..." I muttered, ignoring the 'boyfriend' part. Reluctantly, I sat down beside her and watched the screen.

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**_Here comes the bride... Here comes the - _Oh, wait, that's not until the next chapter... My bad XD**

**Anyway, I love Sakura ^^ She's an OC that I never got to place in any of my stories. Which is odd, cause I place her into every series that I like... Anyway, I'm glad she found her way here :)**


	47. Chapter 47

***AIYOKU FAIYUKI'S POV***

"OW!" I yelled out as I grabbed my head. I glared at the door that I had been fiddling with before, trying to force it open. "AHA! I made it- Serafin!" I growled and jumped away from the door until I was against a wall.

"What?!" Serafin growled, clearly pissed off. "How did you escape my spell?!"

"I was inspired by a pop bottle label I read, 'WARNING: Contents under great pressure. Cap may explode off causing serious eye or other injury.'" I quoted matter-of-factly, "I just held all of my energy back until POP! Off came the top." I glared at the man, who was watching me curiously. "Don't just stand there!" I yelled. "Where's Mo-mo!?"

"This is annoying..." Serafin growled, totally ignoring me. "Now I have to use another spell to bind her, though I can't see her just going along with it…" I flinched as he turned his cold, angry eyes towards me. "Remember, you asked for this, my little doll." He smirked and once again disappeared then reappeared in front of me.

"You really like this sexual harassment pattern, don't you?" I asked, trying to divert him as I tried to think of a method of escape. He just smirked and forced his lips back on mine.

Instantly we were thrown into my mind, now a large, snowy tundra on a night with a full moon.

"I like the new décor." He grinned, as he caught a snowflake which sizzled and steamed away.

"Stay away from me." I growled, as I backed up into the one object visible, a gigantic tree. The snow flew around wildly, and at my command encased him and hardened to ice. I sighed with relief, thinking it was over. I turned around and began to walk out into the open, looking for the pond that I had added as an entrance and exit to my mind. Suddenly I was tackled from behind. A soaking wet Serafin glared at me, as he pinned my arms behind my back.

"Did you think it would be that easy?" He asked with a cruel chuckle.

"I was hoping." I sighed, irritated. "You know, I still have one question. Where are Kathryn and Nickolas? And don't give me that 'they don't want to be here' bullshit."

"Heh, I knew that you wouldn't believe that for long." Serafin leaned in and whispered softly in my ear. "They tried to stop me… so I killed them."

"You! How!? But they're a part of me! It shouldn't be…" I blinked away tears that began to form in my eyes; I couldn't help but feel that I had lost something valuable.

"_Get away from her!"_ Kurama's voice echoed out again, seeming to come from very far away. _"Fai-san! Fight back!"_

"Yes, I killed them. And there's nothing you can do about it." Serafin growled as he forced me onto my back and straddled my waist. "Now, you've made me have to do this all over again, so thank yourself."

He forced his lips down onto mine, but this kiss didn't last nearly as long as the ones from before. He simply stood up and walked a few steps away from me.

I immediately turned onto my hands and knees, trying to stand up. I got halfway there before I was pulled to the ground by a quick jerk at my ankles. I looked back and gasped in surprise; there were chains wrapped around my feet. I pulled against them, but only was dragged across the ground. I looked up to my destination.

In the middle of the snowy field there was a simple, black throne with red cushions.

"NO!" I screamed, as I was dragged back further. Suddenly chains shot over my head and clasped onto my wrists, ripping my hands free from the ground. I struggled to get a grip on something, anything, to stop myself from getting to that chair. I couldn't help but tell that would be what caught me for good.

I was pulled painfully into the chair and chains wrapped tightly over my torso and legs.

"NO!" I screamed again as I struggled against the bonds.

"You know, bondage really suits you." Serafin said with a condescending smirk. I pulled against the chains harder. "Don't worry; I'll make sure your wedding dress is as gorgeous as you are, even though that will be hard." He gave me a quick kiss. "But because you need to see the ceremony…" He pulled out a white scarf which he wrapped over my eyes. Suddenly I could only feel and hear what was happening in my mind; all I could see was what was happening in the real world.

"Come on, stand up." Serafin said; now back in his body, as he extended his hand to my body, which had fallen limp to the floor. Slowly I stood up. "Now come on, you're already late for your fitting because of all of this." I followed him out of the room and through the twisting hallways in the large building.

Before I knew it I was being poked and prodded by seamstresses.

The final touches were done on me, and Mo-mo who I had noticed was there in the exact same trance as me, and veils placed gingerly over our faces. The room was a void of sound as the women led us out to the entrance of the huge hall.

"Well don't you two look nice?" Kyo said, a mocking tone clear in his voice. "And guess who gets the honour of taking you two down the aisle?" He chuckled, and Mo-mo and I, definitely against my will and most likely against hers, put a single hand on his arms, one on either side of him.

Soft music played as the large doors slid open, and I mentally cried out in protest as I saw Serafin smirk from the end of the long aisle.

It was a long and tedious ceremony; the priest, or whatever the guy was called, went on about how women are nothing but dolls for men to play with, and how we would remain loyal, and similar outdated ideals like that, for nearly two hours.

"So, Lord Serafin," The priest finally said, humbly bowing before his lord. "Do you take these two women to be your newest wives?"

"Of course I do." Serafin said, giving a superior look to both Mo-mo and I.

"And do you two women accept your duty as-" The priest was cut off as the doors to the hall slammed open.

"I OBJECT!" Hiei yelled out in an infuriated voice. "Wait, why the hell do I have to object to anything, detective?!" Hiei growled as Yusuke and Kuwabara laughed loudly.

"Be serious you two." Kurama said, sounding actually angry. "Although, I too object to the proceedings going on here."

Kurama and Hiei both stormed up the aisle towards us and pulled Mo-mo and I away from Kyo and Serafin, who looked oddly bemused.

"Who are you?!" The priest yelled out, clearly annoyed by the interruption.

"Hiei and Kurama." Kyo growled.

"We're here for the girls." The two demons stated firmly.

"So, wait... Now _you_ want them?!" The priest finally asked, starting to wonder if he could just leave.

"YES!" Kurama and Hiei burst out in union.

"Fine, then you may kiss the brides!" The priest yelled out as he threw his hands up in frustration and stormed down the aisle.

"Wait..." Kurama's eyes widened.

"What...?" Hiei finished, bearing a similar expression.

"My son's married?! Hiei, I'm so proud of you!" Koray exclaimed with a grin as he appeared behind Mo-mo and I. "Go ahead and kiss your new wife!" He bellowed as he pushed Mo-mo and I into the two boys, forcing us into a kiss. "Wait... Come to think of it, I'm not married! That's just wrong!" Koray gasped, in shock. "Ayame, we're getting married!" Koray yelled as he grabbed the confused fox demon and forced his lips onto hers. Kurama and Hiei had bewildered expressions as they realised that we had just been technically bound in marriage.

"KORAY!" A female voice echoed out. Koray's face twisted into an awkward look of shock as he turned around and faced the owner of the voice. "I can't believe you! You..."

"Oh... Hi, Ariya." Koray muttered as he unsuccessfully tried to hide his displeasure.

"Who's the babe?" Yusuke asked with a perverted smile on his face.

"She's beautiful!" Kuwabara exclaimed, as his face went red.

"Get out of here, lowlifes." Ariya commanded as she snapped her fingers, causing the baka-duo to bust into flames. "And YOU!" She pointed at Koray, who sighed and rolled his eyes. "What do mean you're going to marry that fox?! How could you forget about me, and all the nights we shared together! And then you betray me; first with that ice whore, and now this bitch!"

"Give it a rest, will you? Like I said back then, I don't have any feelings for you." Koray muttered, clearly becoming annoyed. "Besides, aren't you married to Serafin now?"

"That's against the point! You-" Ariya was cut off as sand wrapped around her legs, lifting her into the air, and then breaking her bones. The fire demon let out a cry of pain, and then sent Ayame a harsh glare.

"Don't call me a bitch." Ayame said simply as the sand completely consumed Ariya and a crushing sound was heard.

"Phew... Thanks for getting rid of her, Ayame." Koray smiled. Ayame turned around, and rather than using words, sent Koray a death glare that could have torn him to shreds. Koray trembled with fear, and stood, frozen on the spot, as he waited for Ayame to hit him, or destroy him, or something of the like. However, Ayame walked away from him, and then teleported away.

Koray let out a sigh of relief, as his tense body loosened. Yusuke walked up to him, now that he and Kuwabara had exsitnguished themselves. "All the nights you shared together, huh..." The Spirit Detective muttered. Koray whined, as overly-dramatic tears fell from his eyes.

Suddenly, many guards entered the room, with drawn weapons and started to charge forward at the boys.

"Looks like it's time to kick ass!" Yusuke shouted out with excitement. "Kuwabara, you ready?"

"You bet I am, Urameshi!" Kuwabara exclaimed as he summoned his Spirit Sword, and the two boys engagaed the guards.

"Well, it seems like I can't do anything else here." Serafin said with an annoyed sigh. "I'll be seeing you later, then." He said, and he smiled. It seemed directed at me, but I couldn't tell.

"Get the hell back here!" An enraged Hiei yelled as he drew his sword against the fire demon lord.

"Shouldn't you be more focussed on her?" Serafin gestured at Mo-mo who, now released from Hiei, began to walk out into the middle of the battle between the baka-duo and the guards. Hiei jumped back and grabbed Mo-mo by the arm to forcibly hold her in place.

"Dammit." Hiei growled as Serafin disappeared into the dust.

"Faiyuki-san?" Kurama shouted, as he stared into my eyes. I wanted to yell out in relief for the rescue, to throw my arms around him, to do _**something**_, but I still had no control over my body. "Faiyuki-san?!" Kurama shook his head. "I have nothing. Hiei, we have to get them out of here. In this state they could get hurt." Hiei nodded and the two boys lead us down the now destroyed aisle back to Yusuke and Kuwabara, who were finishing off the guards at the entrance.

"What's with them?" Yusuke asked as he and Kuwabara knocked out the last couple opponents and joined Hiei and Kurama in escaping.

"Yeah, it's like they're hypnotized or something." Kuwabara said.

"Of course they are, you idiot!" Hiei growled, as he tried to pull Mo-mo farther away from the hall. "Move, dammit!" He hissed in annoyance, but both Mo-mo and I seemed routed to the spot.

Suddenly a large explosion blasted through the doors and the boys quickly grabbed us and got out of the way of the debris.

"You won't escape!" Kyo shouted as he ran into the narrow hallway and began a head-on attack.

"_Shotgun!_" Yusuke shouted as a large barrage of his aura filled the entire hallway, and blasted Kyo, who had nowhere to run. The fire demon fell to the ground, too wounded to pursue us.

"We'll have to carry them, if we want to escape." Kurama stated, as he changed the position he was carrying me in to bridal style, probably for the comfort of both of us.

"Tch." Hiei muttered in annoyance, as Yusuke picked up Mo-mo and looked around.

"Uhhh… which way?" The Spirit Detective asked, confused.

"Just go!" Kurama yelled as another explosion blew out the wall next to us. "Hiei, you work on getting them out of the hypnotism!" Kurama said as the boys ran through the halls, turning at random corners.

"I'd rather not go back into that stupid cat's mind!" Hiei objected.

"Hiei!" Kurama warned.

"Hn. Fine" Hiei hissed.

Before I knew it, we were out and running down a barren path. Hiei activated his jagan as he went into a trance, clearly focussing on Mo-mo first. Suddenly flat ground dissolved away as the boys ran through a portal.

"Koenma!" Kurama said, panting slightly, as we entered into Koenma's office. "Find a strong telepath, please." Koenma nodded and began to shuffle between folders, looking through his employees, most likely.

Suddenly Mo-mo stood up. Hiei flinched from his spot, but seemed to focus more than before, trying to overcome the hypnosis in Mo-mo's mind. She walked over to Koenma's desk and grabbed a pen from on top of it. Yusuke was quick to stop her as she almost plunged it through her throat.

"_Please hurry, Hiei."_ I murmured, mentally, only hoping that the request would make it to him.

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**Well that was... fun... *sweatdrops***

**At least we're rescued (and its about time, too) ^^ Now, I (Teresa) have a question for you, our wonderful readers. Fai seems to be under the impression that she and Kurama are not compatible (which would explain why there's been little to no advancement in their relationship) Now, I want to know what you guys think. When you review this chapter, could you please let us know if you think that Fai and Kurama would be a good couple? If so, there will be advancement in their relationship. If not, they stay as friends. **

**Thank you, both of us look forward to hearing your oppinions.**


	48. Chapter 48

**First of all, I would like to thank everyone who reviewed with their oppinion on Fai and Kurama. It helped a lot (and allowed me to win hours of argument with Yuki) ^^  
I will also apologize to everyone who got a nasty reply from Yuki, since she's denying that there's anything between Fai and Kurama... But we all know that there is XD**

**Anyway, sorry that this chapter took so long (or at least, longer than usual) I havn't really been able to write much lately... its not really writers block, cause I do have ideas, its more like I havn't been confident in my ability to keep you guys amused. Well, hope you like the chapter :)  
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***MO-MO'S POV***

"DAMMIT! There has to be _something_ we can do!" I shouted as I watched the screen, upon which I could see my body trying to kill itself.

Sakura sighed. Her expression had become very serious with this current development. "This room is the problem. It's a creation that resulted from Serafin's spell, and so long as you're in here, he has full control over your body."

"So if I can get out of here, then I'll have my body back!" I exclaimed as I looked around. There didn't seem to be any exits, and all the walls looked the same. "Okay..." I muttered as I readied myself. I then charged at one of the walls, full-force. I collided with it with a loud _THUD!_ But it didn't budge in the slightest.

Sakura stared at me with a bewildered expression and then sweatdropped. "You really are pathetic." My face flushed from embarrassment.

We both turned to the screen again. Yusuke was holding me back, but he was having trouble. Hiei was still focusing on getting me out of this spell, but I hadn't detected any sign of him yet.

Sakura sighed. "Damn... We're running out of time, and the midget hasn't shown up yet." Then she turned to me. "Although you don't have the proper training, we'll give it a try anyway. At this point there isn't anything to lose."

"Alright, what do I have to do?" I asked.

"Basically, you have to restrain all your energy until the spell on you can no longer hold it back." Sakura explained. "It sounds simple, but most people have trouble completely holding back their power. They'll usually let out a little subconsciously. So I need you to concentrate, and hold _everything_ back. Unless you want to stay under Serafin's control, of course."

"Okay..." I nodded, accepting the challenge. I closed my eyes and focused. I could feel the strain, but it wasn't so bad at first. I wasn't sure how long I was supposed to hold it in, but I figured that there would be some kind of indication when the body control thing was overpowered. Or Sakura would tell me when to relax.

It was starting to get difficult to hold back my aura. I could feel it trying to escape, but I refused to give up no matter how hard. Besides, Hiei was on his way to help. At the very least, I have to hold out until he gets here. Suddenly, I heard an explosion, and then something that sounded like glass breaking. I opened my eyes, and saw that the room I was in had shattered. I didn't see Sakura anymore, and the surroundings had returned to the black floor and red sky. I started to feel dizzy, and felt as though I was going to fall over. I caught a brief glimpse of Hiei, and then everything faded to black.

**********

My eyes shot open, and all I could see was a white ceiling and a bright light. It was kind of familiar, and when I sat up and looked around, I realized I was in my room in my apartment. I staggered as I stood up, since I haven't had control of my own body for the past couple of days. In the living room I found Yusuke and Kuwabara watching TV, and Hiei was sleeping on the couch.

"Mo-mo, you're awake." Kurama said as he walked out of the kitchen with a relieved look on his face. "How do you feel?"

"Fine." I replied, despite the migraine I could feel coming. "Where's Fai?"

"She's still unconscious. Hiei was able to break the hypnosis on her, though it was apparently more difficult than the one used on you. It took all his strength, and caused him to pass out." Kurama explained.

"Oh..." I muttered as I processed everything.

Suddenly, Yusuke burst out laughing from the other side of the room. "Personally I think he's just faking it, cause he's too embarrassed that you guys got 'married'!"

"What?! C-come on... I didn't even agree to anything..." I stuttered as my face flushed red.

"Now, now, Yusuke... She just woke up, so take it easy with the jokes." Kurama muttered as he stiffened awkwardly. "Don't worry, Mo-mo. Since you and Fai-san were under hypnosis, Koenma agreed that no one is bound by marriage to anyone. You must be hungry; I'll go get you something to eat." And with that, Kurama left the room.

"So... What happened to Serafin, anyway?" I asked.

"He disappeared in all the confusion at the wedding." Kuwabara explained. "Koenma's had people out to look for him, but so far they've found nothing."

"But you don't need to worry about him right now. You and Fai gotta rest and regain your strength." Yusuke said.

"Sure." I sighed with relief. I really wasn't up for any missions, or hunting down Serafin. Some good R'n'R was what I needed at the moment. Suddenly I heard a _HIC_ from behind me. "HICCUP!" I exclaimed as I turned around to a groggily Fai.

"NO!" She burst out, suddenly becoming very alert. "HICCUPS ARE FICTIONAL, THEY DO NOT EXIST!"

"Good to see that you're normal again." I smiled as I gave her a hug.

"Yeah, yeah. You too." She muttered. "What happened to Sparkey-chan?"

"When he wakes up, he'll scream at you about it." Yusuke muttered as he stared sleepily at the TV.

"Okay..." Fai blinked at us. "Then where's Kurama?"

"In the kitchen making food." I smiled. "Wanna go get some?"

"Uh... No, I-I'm not hungry..." Fai muttered as she walked over to the couch. "Move it, Sparkey-chan, I want my couch." She said as she pushed him onto the floor, waking him with a start.

"What the hell??!" Hiei shouted as he sat up and rubbed his head. "You could be more courteous to the one who saved your mind!"

"Ahhh, so _you_ broke Serafin's spell." Faiyuki smiled playfully.

"That's right! But if this is how you show your appreciation, I don't think I'll help you next time! In fact, I'm tempted to give you back to that bastard!" Hiei growled as Fai stuck out her tongue at him.

"Chill out, man." Yusuke muttered. "The more you let her get to you, the more she's gonna annoy you."

"Yeah, just ignore her." I said as I sat down beside Fai.

"Easy for you to say..." Hiei muttered as he pouted and crossed his arms and legs.

Just then, Kurama walked into the room with two bowls of noodles. "I thought I heard you out here, Fai-san. Here, you must be hungry as well." He passed one bowl to me, and held the other out to Fai, but she didn't take it. In fact, she wasn't even looking at Kurama. The room then became silent to the point of awkwardness as we waited for Fai to say something. "Um... Fai-san?"

"Hey, detective, turn up the volume on the TV. I can barely hear it." Fai said finally. Kurama stood there looking as though he had just been slapped.

"Is something wrong?" I asked Fai with a confused expression.

"No, why?" She said cheerfully with an obviously fake smile.

I sighed, and then turned up the sarcasm level on my voice. "Oh, I dunno... Maybe because you're completely ignoring Ku-"

"I'm not ignoring anyone." She interrupted.

"Fai-san... If I did anything to upset you, I'm sorry..." Kurama said with an almost helpless expression. Faiyuki still said nothing. "Look, we can talk if you-"

"Gosh, I keep hearing some buzzing noise in my ear... Is it just me?" Fai muttered, cutting off the fox demon.

"Hn. Your stupidity is making me nauseous." Hiei muttered.

Kurama sighed in utter, pathetic defeat. "I'll just go then..." He muttered as he retreated into the kitchen with his head hung low.

"What's wrong with you?!" Kuwabara exclaimed. "He's tryin' to be nice, since you've been through a lot in the past couple of days, and you treat him like a jerk!"

"Well, maybe I don't want his sympathy." Fai shrugged.

"Come on, you're acting like a real bitch!" Yusuke exclaimed.

"Will you two just shut up?!" I shouted at the baka-duo. "Tell me what's wrong Fai. What happened between you two?"

"It's none of anyone's business." Faiyuki said as she stood up. "Well, I'm tired, so I'm gonna go to bed. We've got school tomorrow, right? Better get some rest." With that, she went into her room.

"How pathetic." Hiei muttered as Kurama stepped back into the room.

"I'm honestly not sure what she's so upset about." Kurama said to us. "I mean, when Serafin kidnapped her, she said some harsh things to me... But I assumed that was to please him, so he wouldn't attack me while I was weak."

"I swear, I'll never understand girls..." Yusuke sighed. "Anyway, I gotta head home. See ya at school tomorrow, Mo-mo.... Maybe."

"My mother will worry if I'm out much longer." Kurama sighed. "So I'll see you later."

"Sure thing." I replied with a wave as the four boys left.

**********

_THUMP!!!_

"GAHHHHH!" I screamed in shock from the unexpectedly loud dropping sound right in front of my face. My eyes shot open, only to be met with the angry expression on Mr. Iwamoto's face.

"Hmph. You dare sleep in _my_ class after being absent for nearly a whole week, Miss Zetsubou?!" He lectured harshly. "It figures that someone who's friends with _Urameshi_ would also have no sense of respect or discipline." He sent Yusuke (who hadn't been to class in the past _two_ weeks) a dirty look.

"I'm very sorry Sir... I promise it won't happen again." I tried to sound as sincere as possible, but it's not my fault I'm exhausted from going on a mission and then being kidnapped by some pervert who tried to marry me and Fai.

"Honestly... Acting this way so close to Christmas vacation." Iwamoto muttered as he returned to the front of the class. "I may just have to give you _all _more homework for the vacation as punishment for your classmates' lousy behaviour." With that the entire class groaned and pretended to do their work.

That's right... Christmas is coming up soon. I guess that means I have to get gifts for everyone... Which sucks cause I'm no good at this kind of stuff. Fai and I could probably go together on some of the gifts. Now, let's see; I could get Keiko and Kurama something nerdy... A day at the spa for Shizuru, Atsuko and Botan... Something to do with fighting for Yusuke... Something to do with kittens for Kuwabara... What would Hiei want, though? Do demons even know what Christmas is? Hm... Well, to start, what does Hiei like? Thieving... Swordplay... Blood... Slaughter... Yukina. I guess that's a start.

Finally, I heard the bell ring, signalling that it was lunch time. Yusuke, Kuwabara, Hiei and I re-arranged our chairs so that we were sitting together and started eating. Hiei hadn't brought anything to eat and was thus sitting in silence, while Yusuke was wrestling with Kuwabara over a sandwich. Keiko and I were about to start a conversation, when Kimi and Natsuko - Keiko's friends - approached us.

"Hey, guys. Do you need something?" Keiko asked them.

"Well, we just wanted to ask Zetsubou-chan if the rumours were true." Natsuko asked.

"What rumours?" I asked curiously.

"Well, apparently all last week while you were gone, some thug from Kasane was around here looking for you." Kimi explained. "And he was telling everyone that you and Sachiko-san are dating."

"Wait, what?!" I exclaimed as I jumped out my seat, and Hiei fell out of his. Yusuke and Kuwabara ceased their fooling around and stared at us with wide eyes. "How many people are in on this?"

"Oh, so it's true! That's a relief." Natsuko said with excitement.

"Yeah, I mean, our entire class knows about it, so it would a shame if it wasn't actually true." Kimi continued.

"But it's _not_ true!" Hiei screamed at them, slightly scaring them. "Are you humans so stupid that you would believe anything you hear?! Use your common sense! There's no way I would date _anyone_!" The two girls stared at Hiei with wide eyes. That was probably the most he's said to anyone at school. Kimi and Natsuko probably weren't even aware that he was capable of yelling.

"Yeah, it really is just a rumour." I assured them.

Suddenly Yusuke and Kuwabara came up behind Hiei and I. "Awwww, look at the two of them, getting so embarrassed... Isn't it cute?" Yusuke muttered with a wide smile.

"Yeah, don't listen to them. They're just shy about their relationship." Kuwabara teased.

"I will kill you two..." Hiei growled under his breath, as his expression became murderous. In fact, I was coming close to pounding in the baka-duo's faces myself.

"Oh, I get it now." Natsuko smiled.

"Let's go tell everyone!" Kimi said as the two of them skipped off.

"This can't be happening..." Hiei muttered with a horrified expression on his face.

"Wow guys, when I first heard that you two were dating, I thought it was just a stupid gag." Keiko said to us with a smile on her face. "But you two are serious? That's great, I'm so happy for you."

I ignored Keiko, and then spun around and grabbed Yusuke by the neck. "What the hell was that for?!" I shouted as I shook him back and forth. "You of all people should know that even if there was something between us, we wouldn't want the entire class to know about it!"

"Aww, come on. It's just a joke." Kuwabara shrugged.

"Yeah, and in a week or so you can just tell people you broke up." Yusuke laughed.

"Will you two shut up?! This isn't funny!" Hiei shouted. "Dammit! I can't stand this, I'm leaving!" Hiei exclaimed as he opened a window and then jumped out, completely disappearing.

"Hiei, wait!" I called out, but he was already gone.

"Woah, if Hiei's ditching, then I'm outta here too!" Yusuke exclaimed with glee as he too jumped out of the window.

"Yusuke, get back here!" Keiko shouted, though the Spirit Detective ignored her and started running away.

"Where the hell are you going, anyway?!" I demanded as I followed him, with Kuwabara close behind.

"That's a good question..." Yusuke muttered, falling into thought. "Say, speaking of breaking up, let's go see how Fai and Kurama are doing."

"Good idea, Urameshi. I hope she's not still treating him the way she was yesterday!" Kuwabara agreed. "But wait... Isn't their school in the next town over?!"

"Then we'll just have to hijack a bus." I muttered. "Hiei, are you coming?" I called out, knowing that he was probably listening.

Suddenly he appeared beside me. "Let's go."


	49. Chapter 49

***AIYOKU FAIYUKI'S POV***

"Aiyoku-kun!" Hiraku-sensei yelled in agitation as he stared at me.

"Sorry…" I muttered, looking down, then back up at the teacher with tears in my eyes. "I almost missed my bus, and my uniforms are being washed." I sighed. "It's just been an all around bad day, I guess. I have a uniform slip."

"The angst… the dark clothes…" I blinked at my art teacher, who once again invaded my personal bubble.

"I'm sick." I stated simply, and he stepped back.

"YES!" He yelled, as I was once again shoved into the modelling stool. "TODAY OUR THEME IS DARKNESS! LOTS OF ANGST PEOPLE!"

*********

Aiyoku-san…" My math teacher sighed. "Where is your uniform?" I looked down at the black turtleneck and black pants, then grabbed the slip from my pocket and handed it to her.

"My uniform is being washed." I stated, with a forced smile, as I forced myself to not look at the flash of red across the room. "I'm sorry…" I sighed.

"Don't worry about it, you've been sick all week; you're probably still recuperating." She smiled.

"Uh… Yea, that's it." I smiled back.

"We seem to be short a desk." The teacher sighed in annoyance. "I bet that Hiraku took it for some abstract model… **again**." I chuckled, as that seemed like something he would do.

"I can go and get a desk, Miss." I smiled.

"Yes, that would be good." The teacher smiled back.

"Sakamoto-sensei!" I cringed as a familiar, polite voice rang out. "I should go as well. You said yourself that Fai-san was still recuperating."

If I hadn't been avoiding Kurama, I probably would have glared at him.

"Ah, yes. That's a wonderful idea!" I twitched slightly at the pleased teacher, but didn't object. I turned and walked out the door, with Kurama in close step behind me.

It was an awkward silence, to say the least. I jumped, startled, as a fist hit the locker right above my head.

"Why are you ignoring me?" Kurama demanded.

"That's oddly blunt... for you at least." I muttered, averting my eyes. I tried to walk away, but Kurama's other hand hit the locker in front of me blocking my exit.

"I'm sorry if I did something, Fai-san, but I'm sure we could…" Kurama sighed in annoyance. "Look at me, please."

"I don't… I don't want to." I muttered, turning my head away from the accusing gaze.

"Why are you ignoring me? Please, tell me." Kurama asked, using a less forceful voice.

"Because, I hide from things I don't like." I stated. "I can't erase what I said to you, and I don't like what I said to you. Because I can't erase the words, or take them back there's only one way out. I said the words to you; if you don't exist then I could have never said those things."

"So you pretend I don't exist?" Kurama frowned. "So in other words, you're trying to protect me, and yourself, by rejecting me?"

"I'm allowed to be selfish."

"This is beyond selfish, Fai-san. You're hurting everybody by acting like this, including yourself." Kurama sighed again. "I don't see why. This isn't like you."

"Shuichi, Kurama, Yoko. These are all just persona that 'you' act out to protect 'you'. None of them are really you, because that would be dangerous; you could be hurt. Faiyuki, Fai, Brittany. These are all acts that 'I' put on to protect 'me'. If everybody was who they really are everybody would be so paranoid that they'd lock themselves away." I frowned. "Even idiots like Yusuke are not entirely 'them'."

"That doesn't mean the 'persona', as you put it, cannot get along. People come to trust one another and that's when they open up." Kurama said. "And ignoring me isn't going to make what you said go away."

"I reject your reality and substitute it with my own!" I stated as I crouched under his arm and walked off, back towards the class. I wanted to wipe away the tears that were streaming down my cheeks, but then Kurama would know that I was crying. That was not happening.

"Fai!" Kurama yelled out as he grabbed my shoulder and turned me around to face him. He blinked, seeing my tears, and let me go.

I ran away, down the hallway towards my math class.

"Sensei!" I hollered into the class room, "I'm not feeling well. I'm going to the nurse's office!" I ran down the hall before she could reply.

**********

I was lying on the soft bed in the nurse's office. I was lucky, since the nurse herself had left hours earlier and the door was unlocked.

Rain tapped steadily against the window, and a clap of thunder made me jump.

"Rain, yay." I smiled. "I'll walk home today. I could do without the thunder though…" I added as I hugged my knees to my chest. I flinched as another clap of thunder rang out loudly. The lights flickered, and then went out. I heard murmurs and squeals from nearby classrooms. Suddenly footsteps could be heard running towards the door.

I rushed over to the window, pulling it open. I jumped out, grabbing onto the ledge of cement that went around the building.

"Kyaa! Scary!" A high female voice rang out.

"Yea, what if the lights stay out?" Another whimpered.

"Look!" One of them gasped. "The windows open!"

"Eahh! The rain's getting in!" The first girl whined as she rushed over and slammed the window shut.

"Shit." I hissed as I pulled myself up onto the ledge, and then almost fell off it as thunder crashed again. I leaned against the building, looking for a ladder or something to get to the roof, which was just above my head. "A storm drain..." I grinned. "Perfect." I edged my way over and put my foot onto one of the large nails that stuck out, holding the drain up. "Go!" I grunted as I pushed up hard, just managing to grab onto the bottom of the fence that surrounded the rooftop.

Slowly I managed to climb up and over the fence. I walked over to the door that led into the school, and twitched when I realised it was locked.

"Why is my luck only good in cards?" I asked, as I sat down, exhausted and wet. "Shit…" I shot up and yelled loudly. "WHY IS EVERYTHING IN CONSPIRACY AGAINST ME!?" I sighed again, and slouched. "My life fails."

Suddenly a figure leapt up and over the fence, proceeding to give me a hard punch to the face.

I blinked up at Yusuke, his face torn with rage.

"You don't like reality so you reject it?! Do you know how stupid that is, even to me?!" He yelled. I blinked in surprise.

"So Kurama told you." I muttered. "Okay, I deserved that then." I started to stand up when another fist came down hard on the top of my head.

"Idiot!" Kuwabara yelled.

"Owww. Okay THAT I didn't deserve." I hissed as I quickly kicked Kuwabara hard in the ribs, sending him flying.

"I don't understand it, I just don't get it!" Yusuke yelled out, as he shook his head, sending water flying in every direction.

"Really?" I asked. "It's not that hard. It's no different than Hiei acting like a cold hearted, pms-ing bitch so he doesn't have to get close to anybody, including his baby sister, because he's afraid of being rejected."

"Shut up!" Hiei yelled as he leapt off the small building that surrounded the door and slashed at me. I just barely caught his blade with a shield of ice.

"Hiei has a sister?" Kuwabara muttered in the background.

"Hi there, Sparkey-chan." I smiled as I strengthened the shield. Suddenly a blunt force, Hiei's foot, collided with my side, sending me flying through the fence. I hung out in the air for a few seconds before gravity took its toll and started to pull me towards the ground.

Hiei appeared over me and came down again on me with his sword.

"What's wrong, Sparkey-chan? Did I hurt your feelings?" I hissed as I blocked another would-be lethal blow. I kicked Hiei away with both my feet, using the projection to flip around and land on my hands and feet in the mud.

Hiei quickly recovered and fell down on me with his blade.

My feet slid back in the loose mud as he put more and more force into the attack. I flew backwards and summoned a blade of ice to the side of my hand and I lunged at Hiei, and then blinked in surprise when all the movement suddenly stoped.

I felt restraints on me, and saw them on Hiei. Thick green vines wrapped around our arms, legs, and torsos. I hissed slightly, noticing Hiei's blade just a few centimetres away from my face. He glared, noticing the blade of ice a few millimetres from his throat.

"A draw." I smiled mockingly at Hiei who pulled against the restraints.

"Let me go Kurama!" Hiei growled, "I'm going to kill this bitch."

"Ohhh, a challenge... Sounds like fun." I hissed back.

"Hiei, calm down." Kurama sighed. "Fai-san, please stop encouraging him."

I turned my head away and sliced the vines with ice.

"Where are you going Fai?!" Yusuke yelled out. I paused.

"All I'm good at is running away, anyway." I muttered.

"You idiots!" Mo-mo yelled as she ran up. "Why didn't you wake me up on the bus?! I had to run from the next stop… What's going on here?" She asked, taking in the tense atmosphere.

"Cook for one tonight, Mo-mo." I smiled as I sprinted away.


	50. Chapter 50

***MO-MO'S POV***

"FAI!" I shouted as the boys and I chased after my fleeing friend. "DAMMIT, WHY ARE YOU BEING SUCH A STUPID IDIOT?!"

Hiei sighed as he ran next to me. "Because she's an emotional wreck who can't even admit her feelings to herself."

"Well then what are we going to do?" Yusuke asked. "Force her to open up?"

"That's impossible, Urameshi! She's _way_ too stubborn!" Kuwabara exclaimed. "We gotta think of something else."

"Guys, perhaps we should just let her have some space so she can sort it out on her own." Kurama said.

"NO WAY, Kurama!" Yusuke explained. "I can't stand this kind of tension! We're teammates and we're friends, and I can't just let two of my pals go on hating each other!"

Kurama sighed. "But I don't hate-"

"LOOK! This drama ends now! I don't care what it takes; we'll _make_ Fai open up!" Yusuke shouted in agitation. Kurama sighed again, and gave up.

"Yeah, and how do you propose we do that, Urameshi?!" Kuwabara demanded. Yusuke twitched and fell into thought.

Suddenly, I got an idea. "Well, isn't it a good thing... that we have a telepath on our side." I smiled looking down at Hiei, who cringed slightly.

"Yes, that's perfect!" Yusuke exclaimed. "We'll get Hiei to tell us how she really feels."

"I don't think this is a good idea..." Kurama tried to argue, but no listened to him.

"Why would I want to go back into her mind, anyway?" Hiei stated with annoyance.

"Think about it for a second," I said to him. "If Fai won't even talk to _me_ about it, then whatever she's hiding is really important and embarrassing for her. Imagine how embarrassed she'd be if all that was revealed, and in front of Kurama, no less. To her... it would be an experience worse than death or torture."

Hiei's expression became dark and sadistic. "An experience worst than death or torture... Yes, I think I'll do it."

"Alright, so I'll be the one questioning Fai, Hiei will tell us what she's really thinking, and Yusuke and Kuwabara, make sure she doesn't run away."

"Yes, Sir." The baka-duo mockingly saluted.

"But what about me?" Kurama asked.

"You just listen. After all, this is only to set things right between you and her." I said to him.

**********

"NOOOOO!" Fai shouted as she struggled under Yusuke and Kuwabara's hold on her. She flailed any part of her body that wasn't being held back by the boys. "I DON'T HAVE TO TELL YOU GUYS ANYTHING! NOW LEAVE ME ALONE!"

"Quit acting like such a drama queen." I sighed in annoyance at her. I then used my aura to latch onto her feet like shackles, and keep her from kicking the two boys.

"THAT'S NOT FAIR, MO-MO! YOU TRAITOR!" Fai shouted.

"I still don't think this is a good idea..." Kurama spoke out.

"Just shut up and watch." I commanded, as my patience was starting to thin. "You ready, Hiei?" He nodded. "Alight, then lets do this. Fai, why exactly are you ignoring Kurama?"

"IT'S NONE OF YOUR BUSINESS!" She screamed.

We all turned to Hiei. "She's angry with herself because she said some bad things to Kurama, and now she tries to escape it by saying that Kurama doesn't exist." Hiei filled us in. "She's also afraid that she'll end up hurting Kurama if they stay together."

"Wow... Only Fai would think to do something so ridiculous." I sweatdropped.

"WAIT, YOU'RE HAVING SPARKEY-CHAN READ MY MIND?! YOU CHEATERS! YOU CAN'T DO THAT!" Fai shouted at us, as her face started to turn red.

Hiei chuckled. "Now she's thinking that she doesn't want me to tell you all that she has a crush on our fox. Oh, sorry... Did I say that out loud?"

"NOOOOO!" Faiyuki cried out in protest as her face became even redder.

"Haha, I knew it all along!" Yusuke teased.

"You can't hide nothin' from us!" Kuwabara laughed.

"Yeah, it was kind of obvious." I smirked.

"Heh. Now she thinks that Kurama's going to hate her." Hiei said with an amused expression. "Well, Kurama? Gonna tell her what you're thinking, or should I do it for you?"

"N-no, Hiei. That's not necessary." Kurama stuttered as he tried to regain a cool demeanour. He seemed to have been unusually taken aback by the information. He turned his gaze to Faiyuki, and then smiled. "Fai-san, you should know that I don't hate you at all. Sure, you're acting a little childish, but I'm flattered that you like me so much."

"STOP SAYING STUFF LIKE THAT! I KNOW YOU'RE JUST TRYING TO BE NICE!" Fai shouted as she shut her eyes, and tried to hide her blushing face.

"Fai-san..." Kurama muttered.

"Hn. She seriously believes that you have no interest in her at all. It's quite pathetic, actually." Hiei said.

"_Somebody's_ enjoying himself." I smirked at Hiei, who replied with a smirk of his own.

"ALRIGHT, YOU GUYS HAVE YOUR STUPID ANSWERS, NOW LEAVE ME ALONE!" Fai shouted at us, as she tried to struggle away from the baka-duo.

"No way, this is too much fun." Yusuke giggled.

"I agree with the detective, for once." Hiei smirked.

"NO! THIS ISN'T FAIR! KURAMA, YOU'RE ON MY SIDE, RIGHT?! MAKE THEM STOP!" Faiyuki demanded.

"Well, actually... I'm curious to hear more." Kurama said with a playful smile.

"WHAT?! YOU... YOU... STUPID FOX! I HATE YOU!" Fai screamed.

"Don't worry, she doesn't really." Hiei stated, while Fai continued to scream protests in the background. Hiei then looked at Kurama mischievously. "Heh... So _that's_ why you're so curious."

Kurama flinched awkwardly. "Hiei, you're only supposed to be reading Fai-san's mind."

"Oh, please, Kurama." I said with a sigh. "It doesn't take a mind-reader to figure out what you're thinking at the moment." Kurama twitched, as a very large sweatdrop fell down the side of his head.

"WAIT, WHAT'S KURAMA THINKING?! WHAT ARE YOU GUYS TALKING ABOUT?!" Faiyuki screamed.

"Gee, Fai..." I said to her, almost sarcastically. "I wonder how you would feel if Kurama _liked you back_."

"THAT'S A LIE! KURAMA DOESN'T LIKE ME AT ALL!" Fai protested.

Hiei laughed out loud. "Her thoughts are in a total loop. She's happy that Kurama likes her, and then she thinks that maybe the two of them could be together, but then she denies that we're telling the truth and rants on about how incompatible they are and how Kurama would never like someone like her to begin with. But then she realizes that Kurama never objected to the suggestion that he likes her, and so the whole process repeats itself."

"Gosh, Fai. Why d'ya have to be so stubborn?" Kuwabara said to her.

"You girls have to make everything so complicated..." Yusuke muttered.

"YOU TWO JUST SHUT UP!" Fai screamed at them, causing the boys to cringe. "AND BESIDES, SPARKEY-CHAN, YOU SHOULDN'T BE TALKING BECAUSE YOU'RE NO BETTER THAN I AM!"

Hiei twitched. "You can't compare the two of-"

"OH, _WATCH ME_!" Fai shouted. "YOU SAY _I'M_ PATHETIC? WELL, _YOU_ WON'T EVEN ADMIT YOU'RE OWN IDENTITY TO YOUR SISTER!"

Silence encompassed the group, as Hiei stared at Fai with a mortified expression. The rest of us didn't dare make a sound, and waited tensely to see what Hiei would have to say about that.

"You're so silent now, Sparkey-chan." Fai stated confidently. "What's the matter? Did I hit a little too close to home?"

"Okay, Fai. Although I admit that Hiei's been a complete jerk, that was too much. The situations are completely different." I spoke out.

"Is that so?" Fai smiled sadistically. "Well than let's try this instead... Hiei can't say anything about me denying my own feelings, because he can't even be honest about his feelings towards you, Mo-mo."

"Huh...!" I said, taken aback. I looked over at Hiei, whose face had become flushed as he alternated between staring at the ground awkwardly and attempting to give Fai a death glare.

"What's the matter, Sparkey-chan? We're all having our secrets brought out into the open, so why not join in on the fun?" Fai mocked. "Besides, it's not like it wasn't _obvious_."

"Fai-san _does_ have a point, Hiei." Kurama said with a playful smirk.

"Shut up!" Hiei shouted, for lack of a better insult. I felt kinda bad for him, but he _did_ have it coming. And besides, the fact that Hiei likes me is a great accomplishment on my part.

"What's wrong, Hiei? You do like Mo-mo, don't you?" Kurama asked.

"W-what... Well, I... Uh..." Hiei stuttered as the entire group looked at him with prying eyes. "Look... It's just that... I..." His face started to turn pink, and he began to quiver. His eyes darted to and from me, as if he wanted to look at me, but couldn't.

"Come on, Hiei. Out with it." Yusuke commanded.

"Yeah, Shorty. Or are ya too _scared_?" Kuwabara baited.

The boys all waited in anticipation, as Hiei stuttered more inaudible sounds and struggled under the pressure. The look on his face was extremely pathetic. It seemed as though he would break out in tears. Now I really felt bad for him. I had to say something to help him out...

"Um... I LIKE HIEI." I burst out. All eyes turned to me, as no one had been anticipating a confession from me.

"Mo-mo... What was that for?" Faiyuki asked me.

"Uh, well, I..." I stuttered. "I just like him, and he likes me, so... We'll leave you guys alone if you leave us alone!"

"Y-you..." Hiei muttered awkwardly, his face now the color of Kurama's hair. "You just said that you..." But before he could finish, Hiei fell to the ground.

"Woah, did he just faint?!" Kuwabara exclaimed.

"That's what it looks like." Yusuke replied as he and Kuwabara released Fai.

Fai stretched her arms into the air. "Ahhhh~ Freedom." She sighed with relief. "Bye." And with that she ran off.

"Awww, there she goes again." Yusuke whined. "Now we gotta chase her down!"

"No, just leave her." Kurama said. "I think she'd feeling better now, and will most likely return to her apartment."

"Kurama's right. I'll let you guys know if she's not home when I get there." I said. The boys nodded.

"Well, I guess I'll take care of three-eyes..." Yusuke muttered as he picked up Hiei and walked off with Kuwabara.

*********

It turns out that Kurama's assumption had been correct. Faiyuki was home when I got there. She was in the kitchen making some curry for dinner.

"Hey, is there enough for two?" I asked.

"No." She said flatly as she put her food into a bowl and walked out of the kitchen and locked herself into her room.

"WHAT?! NOOO, FAI, YOU HAVE TO COOK FOR ME! DON'T DENY ME FOOD!" I reached out desperately, and banged on her door. But there was no reply. Suddenly the phone rang. "Hello?" I said after picking it up.

_"Hey, Mo-mo. It's Yusuke."_

"What's up? Fai made it back okay, if that's what you're wondering, though her mood's pretty bad."

_"That's good to hear."_ Yusuke replied. _"I'm calling cause I just got a message from Koenma. Apparently he has a job for us, or something, and wants us all to see him asap."_

I sighed. "Oh well. I find some way to drag Fai down there."


	51. Chapter 51

***AIYOKU FAIYUKI'S POV***

"You want us to do WHAT?" I hissed in annoyance at Koenma. Not only was I here against my will, in the same room as Kurama, and in an overly bad mood, now he expected me to waste my winter holidays on him?!

"Yeah, seriously! This is our holiday!" Yusuke yelled angrily. "There is no way we're wasting it throwing a party for you!"

"Well the party's not for me…" Koenma smiled. "It's for all the demons in who are currently in the human world under permission from spirit world."

"Where would we hold such a large scale event? There will be hundreds of demons." Kurama questioned, also apparently having plans he wasn't keen on giving up.

"Genkai has already offered her temple as a place we can use!" Koenma smiled widely. "Now **you** six have to set up! And host. And you'll have to cook too or at least get food…" Koenma sighed. "So much work to do... You guys may want to get started."

Kuwabara seemed to be the only one who was looking forward to it.

"This isn't fair." I whined. "I don't want to throw some stupid Christmas party!" I crossed my arms and huffed. "At least I'm done my shopping."

"Whaaat?!" I blinked as everybody stared at me.

"Yea, I was finished, like, three weeks ago. Even before I was kidnapped." I smiled. "I can't stand lines or shopping, so I get it done really early."

"Well, I'm almost done too." Kurama smiled. "I only need one more."

"Heh, you haven't gotten the cat's gift yet?" Hiei smirked. "You'll short fuse her if you get her that."

"Get me what? And don't waste your money on me!" I stated firmly.

"Oh come on Fai." Mo-mo sighed. "You're getting gifts, and we have our ways."

"That's right!" Yusuke grinned. "If you don't accept them then we really WILL be wasting our money." I froze.

'How did he… know that that…' I whimpered, "Not fair! Cheater!" I yelled, pouting.

"Haha! Come on Kurama, you agree too, right?" Kuwabara laughed.

"Of course you're getting gifts Fai-san, you're important to us." Kurama smiled. I suddenly got really dizzy.

"Come on Kurama!" Yusuke chuckled, "Enough with the 'san'! You two are close enough for you to be calling her 'chan' now, or you could just drop honorific altogether!"

"Yea!" Kuwabara agreed.

"Even I agree with them, fox." Hiei said as he sent me a cruel smirk.

"The guys are right. You and Fai are there, you reached that point in your relationship." Mo-mo laughed.

But I was off in my own little world.

'I'm important to Kurama… But he only means it as friends! There's no way it's anything else!' I yelled mentally. 'No way at all!'

"Is that okay with you?" Kurama asked, but I hardly heard him. "Fai-san?"

"Hmm? Yea I know, right?" I said, still more focused on my thoughts than their conversation.

"Okay then, Fai it is." Kurama blinked, seemingly surprised by the simplicity in the decision.

"WHOHWAITWHAAAT!?" I yelled as I instantly turned redder than Kurama's hair and stumbled backwards.

"Fai, are you okay?" Kurama blinked.

I think my head exploded, because everything went black.

*********

I blinked and stiffened.

"Kurama…" I muttered. "**WHY** am I on your lap?"

"Well, we were worried that you hit your head when you fainted so we wanted to keep your head off the ground…" Kurama sweatdropped. "The couches are kind of full so…"

"Well why can't I move?" I hissed as I struggled to move my limbs.

"Well, we kinda ran out of floor space!" Yusuke yelled from apparently nowhere.

"Okay then. I'll kill **you** later. Kurama, help me?" I asked, whining slightly.

"I can't…" He muttered. "They built up a tower of stuff behind me, and it shifted, so I'm the only thing holding it up. And even that's becoming difficult. If it were to shift even slightly it would probably collapse over us."

"So in short, no moving." I sighed. "Where'd all this stuff come from, anyways?" I asked.

"It turns out Genkai is quite the pack-rat." Kurama chuckled. "So Fai, was Hiei telling the truth?"

"I don't know what you're talking about!" I objected as I closed my eyes and struggled to hide my blush.

"Oh, I see…" Kurama murmured, a sad expression starting to form on his face.

"WELL I, UH!" I whimpered slightly, "I mean… if you… uhm… well… there, uh, … just a little, maybe… kind of…" I blushed and closed my eyes. "What, uh, what about you?"

"What do you mean?" Kurama asked. I couldn't see his expression because my eyes were still closed.

"Well Hiei said that you liked me, well indirectly, I guess but…" I sighed slightly. "I mean I totally understand it if you don't like me, because I wouldn't like me. I-"

"Fai…" Kurama muttered, interrupting me. "I really-"

"HEADS UP!" Yusuke yelled as the tower shuddered and began to collapse.

"GAH!" I yelled out as suddenly an insane amount of stuff fell on top of Kurama and I.

"Owww…" I hissed, and then blinked, "Either I'm blind, or there is no light in here."

"No light." Kurama said, as he coughed due to dust.

"Gah! Kurama! Are you okay?!" I yelled out then sat up quickly, only to be brought down again. "OWW!" I yelled, as I felt blood role down my face from my forehead. "What did I hit?" I muttered, as I blinked, noticing silence, "Kurama?" I asked, and suddenly a heavy weight fell over on top of me. "Kurama?" I asked again, blowing some of the long hair that had landed on my face away. "Great, I killed Kurama…" I muttered.

"FAI!" I heard Yusuke yell. "YOU ALIVE?!"

"No. I'm dead. And I killed Kurama." I stated bluntly.

"What?!" The group yelled in union from outside the collapsed mess.

"Well, stuff happened and now I'm bleeding and Kurama is dead." I stated awkwardly. I heard Hiei chuckle. "SHUT UP!" I squealed, embarrassed.

"She head butted him." Hiei said. "He's just unconscious."

"HIEI!" I wailed, "Just get us out of here!"

"It'll take a while…" I heard Mo-mo sigh. "There's a lot of crap that we'll have to move. Just play nice for now."

"I said shut up…" I muttered.

I lay back onto the floor, and I heard Kurama sigh from the spot on my stomach that had been labelled his temporary pillow. I sighed. "Man, this is a conspiracy against me…"

I closed my eyes, it made no difference anyways, it was pitch black in the little cave, and slowly drifted off to sleep.

*********

I woke up to a very bright light.

"Look how cute they are!" I heard Yusuke mock.

"Mnghhmmmmm." I groaned in reply as I turned onto my side and hugged my pillow. "Yusuke get the frig outta my room…" I hissed as I sighed and tried to fall back asleep.

"Uh, this isn't your room." Mo-mo sounded like she was about to laugh.

"Then why is my pillow-" I asked closing my eyes tightly because of the light.

"That's not your pillow." Hiei stated.

My eyes shot open and a click was heard, followed by another bright flash.

"GAH!" I yelled as I hid my eyes into my 'pillow-that-is-not-my-pillow'. "To briiiight."

"Good morning, Fai." Kurama chuckled from right beside me, making me realize that _he_ was my pillow. I shot up and away, a huge flush on my face.

"I uh, I… SORRY!" I shouted as I collapsed to the ground, nearing tears.

"Don't worry." Kuwabara smirked. "He seemed to like it.

"SHUT UP!" I yelled as I threw a chair at Kuwabara. I pretty much curled up into the fatal position as I struggled to hide the blush that had been rapidly forming on my face.

"Fai, are you okay?" Kurama asked, and I heard him walk over to me.

"I'm fine." I stated bluntly, "And you don't like me."

"You can't decide that!" Mo-mo argued, laughing her head off from the other side of the room.

"Do you want the next chair?" I asked, as I glared from under my arms. She started laughing harder.

"I swear, you look like…" Her laughing overtook her and she was unable to continue the statement.

"It's really okay, there's nothing to worry about." Kurama chuckled, "After all, I was using you as a pillow, it seems, for almost two hours."

"Still…" I muttered, looking away.

"How can I prove its okay?" He asked.

"You can't." I stated, as I hugged my knees tighter.

"You can't say you're not cute if you're going to act like this!" Yusuke scolded.

"You look so adorable!" Mo-mo managed through her laughing.

"Stop it!" I pouted. "I'm not cute!" The room seemed to go silent and suddenly a high pitched squeak erupted from my mouth.

"HICCUP!" Mo-mo shouted as she began her laughing fit again.

"NO!" I screamed, as I covered my face which was reddening again, "Hiccups do not exist! NONONO!"

"I do believe that was a hiccup." Kurama said, and Yusuke joined Mo-mo in laughter.

"NO! Hiccups are figments of imagination!" I argued, standing up and facing Kurama, "THEY DO NOT EXIST!"

"But you just hiccupped." Kurama stated calmly.

"NO!" I shouted.

"Yes, I do believe it was a hiccup." He continued.

"NO!" I screamed.

"Yes." He argued.

"NO!!!!" I was determined to win this battle.

"Yes." Kurama stated, looking me dead in the eye.

"NOOOO!" I shouted as I tackled him to the ground. "HICCUPS. DO. NOT. EX- IST!" I shouted, poking his chest from my position on top of him, I smiled. "Understand?"

I realised that everybody had gone silent.

"FINALLY! My logic has made it through!" I smiled slightly. Mo-mo, Yusuke, and Kuwabara started to laugh hysterically. "What?" I asked.

"Unfortunately, hiccups exist, Fai." Kurama stated from under me, and suddenly the world twisted around and Kurama was standing over me, and I was on the floor. I blinked, and he held his hand out.

"Dizzy…" I muttered, as I took his hand and got unsteadily to my feet. "You need to teach me how to do that." I grinned.

"He also needs to let go of your hand so you guys can get some work done." Genkai said from the doorway.

"GAH!" I blushed as we both quickly pulled our hands away. "I'll, uh, COOK!" I shouted as I ran past Genkai.

"The kitchen's in the other direction." Genkai sweatdropped.

"I KNEW THAT!" I gasped awkwardly as I half-ran through the room and out the other door.

"I'm going to make sure she doesn't burn my house down. Would you like to help Kurama?" Genkai teased. Kurama sweatdropped as she walked past him and after me. "Have you even cooked before?" She wondered.

"Mhmm, I used to cook meals, when I lived with my family, I've got a pretty good luck with mix-it-up-to-see-what-you-get meals and I can follow a recipe really well, and my cookies are to die for! Even though that's baking…"

"Well, there's a recipe for you to follow from Koenma, and all the ingredients are here. You'll probably have enough ingredients for cookies too, if you want."

"Awesome!" I grinned.

*********

"So… much… cooking…" I muttered, as I dragged myself into the now dressed up room. "And this place looks great." I stared in awe at the room, everything seemed to sparkle.

"You look like hell." Yusuke laughed.

"LET'S SEE YOU COOK NON-STOP FOR SEVEN HOURS FOR EIGHTHUNDRED DEMONS!" I screamed, twitching slightly.

"Okay, gotcha." Yusuke said as he backed away.

"Mo-moooo!" I whined. "I made you people cookies." I set the plate on the floor and collapsed against the wall. I ran my fingers through my dusty hair.

"Yuki…" Mo-mo pointed at me from under the table that she was currently levelling. "You have flour all over you, and other stuff…"

"YES I WENT THROUGH THIS WITH YUSUKE!" I twitched again. "That's it!" I stood up and marched out of the room. "I need a shower."

"Fai!" Yusuke called from the plate of cookies. "These are awesome!"

"Yes, I know." I said flatly. "Cookies are easy to make, even a dolt like you could make them." He twitched slightly at my blunt insult. "Now, Yuki equals getting clean. Buh-bai."

"Where do you think you're going?" Genkai asked me, and I stiffened.

"Shower?" I whimpered miserably.

"No way, you still have to do the main course; those were just the appetizers." Genkai said as she grabbed me by the back of my shirt and dragged me towards the kitchen.

"NOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!" I screamed as the kitchen door closed.

* * *

**Faiyuki equals getting clean? Well, Genkai equals putting you through deathly amounts of work ^^**

**Awww, aren't Fai and Kurama cuuuute 3**

**Anyway, I forgot to say in the last chapter YAY WE GOT 50 CHAPTERS! WHOOT!**


	52. Chapter 52

***MO-MO'S POV***

"Mo-mo! We need more drinks over here!" Yusuke shouted at me.

"I'm coming..." I sighed in frustration. What was I, their maid?

Genkai's Temple was swarming with demons. I honestly didn't think there were going to be quite _this_ many. Every room was completely packed to the point that it was difficult just to move. Even the front lawn was crowded. Most of the demons were either over-sized or drunk, making things even worst. This was what the guys, Faiyuki and I had to deal with... On Christmas Eve. I swear, if Koenma doesn't compensate us for this, I'll help Yusuke shove that pacifier of his up his ass!

"Fai, are the deserts ready yet?" I called into the kitchen.

"JUST WAIT A MINUTE!" Faiyuki yelled out in irritation. "It's not my fault that we didn't prepare enough food beforehand, and I've kinda been stuck in here for the past fourteen hours, so be a little patient!"

'But _you_ were the one in charge of food, so it _is_ your fault...' I thought to myself, but didn't voice it for fear of angering her further. This is gonna be a long night...

**********

"_Finally_, it's calmed down!" I sighed as I plopped down onto one of the now-empty couches with Yusuke, Kuwabara, Kurama and Fai. It was now just after midnight, and a great majority of the crowd had left. Of course there were still a good number of stragglers, but it wasn't necessary for us to wait on them any further.

"That was rough..." Kuwabara muttered.

"Never _ever_ let Koenma convince us to do this again!" Yusuke exclaimed as he tossed bottles of beer to all of us.

"Mo-mo, don't expect me to cook for a _very_ long time." Fai muttered. I pouted, but she stuck her tongue out at me.

"Well, it appears to be Christmas Day now..." Kurama stated. "Cheers."

"Cheers." We all tapped our bottles together in a celebrative manner, and then simultaneously drank from them.

"Say... Where'd Hiei go?" I asked, realizing that he was missing.

"The little bastard disappeared sometime while we were all busy..." Yusuke muttered through gritted teeth. "I swear, the next time I see him I'm gonna..."

"Hey, guys look who I found." Yukina stated as she walked into the room with Hiei following timidly behind. "I thought that since its Christmas, we should all be together."

"Weeeell, wasn't that nice of you, Yukina..." Yusuke muttered with a hint of sarcasm as he wrapped an arm around Hiei's neck and dragged the fire demon into the room. "We were just discussing what we were gonna do to him for skipping out on us." Yukina stared at the Spirit Detective with curious eyes.

"L-leave me alone!" Hiei stuttered, despite knowing that there was no way out of this.

"Oh, no, Shorty. You're not getting out of this one." Kuwabara smirked eagerly. "I think we should draw graffiti all over his face!"

"Kuwabara... You're too simple." Fai stated, as she stood up with a sadistic smile playing across her lips. "There's a _mountain_ of dishes that need to be washed... Everything that the demons here ate off of... I think Hiei should thoroughly clean _every single dish_."

"Heh. Perfect." Yusuke smirked. "Unless, someone has a better idea..." He turned to Kurama and I.

The fox demon shrugged, indicating that he was indifferent. I saw Hiei shoot me a look that was begging me to get him out of this. But as much I like him, he _did_ skip out on his job. "Yeah... Doing all the dishes should make up for the work he didn't do earlier."

Hiei gasped, clearly taken aback by my betrayal. I couldn't help but laugh as he was dragged off to the kitchen by Yusuke with a horrified look on his face. Yukina was appointed to watch over Hiei, and make sure he doesn't run away again.

**********

"BWAHAHAHA! Th' lit'le runt jus couldn't keep out of trouble, eh?" Chu exclaimed as Yusuke finished bragging about the torment we were putting Hiei through.

"Too be honest, I'm surprised _you_ didn't run off!" Jin laughed.

"Ahhh, shaddup." Yusuke muttered. "Anyway, how've you guys been doing?"

"We've been training a lot." Touya replied. "Our skills have improved, however they're still nothing compared to your power, Yusuke."

"Hey guys, I'm bored of just sitting around... Got anything to do?" Fai muttered from her spot on the couch next to me.

"Yeah, what we need are some party games!" Jin exclaimed as he sent a gust of wind through the room.

"DID SOMEONE SAY DRINKING GAMES?!" Chu shouted out.

"Don't worry, Fai... I've got a game that'll cheer you up." Yusuke said with a playful smirk. He then proceeded to unroll a poster, and tape it to the wall. "So who's up for a game of darts?" He said motioning at the poster which showed Koenma's face.

"HELL YEAH!" Faiyuki and I exclaimed at the same time, as we rushed like children to grab some darts.

We eagerly launched dart after dart into Koenma's face, backing further away each time in order to increase the difficulty, and shouting out in joy if we managed to strike his pacifier, eyes or nose. The other boys also joined in, though their aim was _way_ better that Fai's or mine. Then before we knew it, demons we didn't even recognize gathered, wanting a shot at the ruler of Spirit World.

"YUSUKE!" A loud, familiar voice rang out, silencing all the excitement. We all turned nervously to see an infuriated Koenma standing at the door to the room with Botan, Keiko, Atsuko and Shizuru behind him.

"H-hey, Koenma..." Yusuke muttered nervously.

"Why you..." Koenma gritted his teeth. "How dare you insult me like this! I'm the respectable ruler of Spirit World! I could have you arrested for something like this!"

"Woah... Chill out pacifier-breath, it's just a little fun..." Yusuke threw up his hands in defence.

"Yusuke, do you even realize how childish and idiotic you're being?" Keiko scolded.

"There's no need for anyone to get angry." Kurama said. "We'll just play another game."

"You know, Kurama, for someone of your intellect and maturity level, I'm surprised you let this go on." Koenma said, eyeing the fox demon suspiciously. "You weren't _participating_ were you?"

Kurama sweatdropped. "T-there's no need to make accusations... Now let's just move on, shall we?"

Of course, we had all seen Kurama throw a few darts at Koenma's face...

**********

"Remind me again how this game is supposed to be fun?" Fai muttered in annoyance.

"Yeah and why do I have to play?" Hiei grunted. Now that his punishment had been completed, he and Yukina re-joined the group for some fun. Well, Yukina re-joined and Hiei was just dragged along by the rest of us.

"It's not that bad." I reassured them. "At least compared to what the initial idea was."

"Okay, yes. Spin-the-bottle was worst. But seven minutes in heaven isn't much better!" Fai whined.

"What the hell is this game anyway?" Hiei muttered.

"Well, basically two people are selected to go into the closet together and do whatever they please for seven minutes." Kurama explained. "The two will be selected by spinning a bottle."

"Do whatever they please?" Hiei repeated. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"You'll see when you get there." Yusuke smirked mischievously. "Now let's get started."

The six of us, plus Jin, Chu, Touya, the girls, and a bunch of random demons that none of us knew personally, sat in a circle. Yukina volunteered to go first, even though I don't think she quite grasped the true intent of this game. As she span the bottle it was clear that Kuwabara was eager for the bottle to stop in front of him, however, much to his utter annoyance, it fell on Hiei. The siblings stared at each other awkwardly, since neither of them were sure about what exactly they were supposed to do while alone in a cramped closet, but reluctantly they entered.

After about a minute, Kuwabara finally lost it. "I CAN'T STAND THIS ANYMORE!" He burst out. "How can we allow my sweet, innocent Yukina to be alone with that crude midget?! I don't even want to think about what he might be doing to her!"

"They're not gonna do anything..." I said to him. Of course, while the logic of _why_ Hiei wasn't going to do anything to Yukina seemed obvious to the rest of us, Kuwabara was still unaware of their relation.

"Oh, yeah. I nearly forgot, he likes _you_, Mo-mo, so we've got nothin' to worry about." Kuwabara smiled with relief. I sighed in utter defeat, while the others shot me funny looks.

Once the seven minutes had passed, the Hiei and Yukina came out, still as awkward as before. It was Fai's turn to spin, although she didn't seem too eager to play. I kinda hoped, for my own personal amusement, that the bottle would land on Kurama. However, much to my dismay, it fell on a demon that none of knew. Fai sent me a despairing look as she entered the closet with a total stranger. Once the seven minutes were up, Fai and the demon came out. Her face was a little flushed, and she seemed upset about something.

"Hey, are you okay?" I asked.

"Who, me? Yeah, I'm fine." Faiyuki replied. "It was just really awkward, that's all."

"If you say so." I shrugged.

"Your turn, Mo-mo." Yusuke said, passing me the bottle. I span it, and prayed that it would land on someone tolerable. But secretly, I was kind of hoping for Hiei. However, much to everyone's surprise, it landed on Kurama. Both of us turned to Fai, who was severely glaring at us, and tried to give her apologetic looks.

"Well, let's go." Kurama said. I nodded and followed him into the closet. It was more cramped than I thought. With two people inside, there was barely any room for either of us to move. Kurama and I were pretty much on top of each other, which was _really_ awkward. It made moving awkward as well.

"So, Mo-mo..." Kurama started, in an attempt to break the very painful silence that had been looming. "You got all your Christmas shopping done, I take it?"

"Uh... yeah." I stuttered. My mind was revolving around the fact that Kurama and I are pretty much the same height, so when he talks I can feel his breath on me, which just makes things worst! Okay, gotta distract myself... "Hey, did you end up getting Fai what we talked about?"

Kurama chuckled nervously. "You'll have to wait and see."

"Awww, come on. You can tell me. Yes or no?" I begged.

"More importantly, I heard that Hiei got you a rather nice gift." Kurama smiled.

"Huh?" Damn that fox, he knows just what to say to distract me. "What is it?"

"I can't tell you, it would spoil the surprise." Kurama said playfully.

"Not even a little hint?" I pried. Just then, I moved my foot slightly, but I tripped on something, and lost what little balance I had to begin with. Out of impulse, I latched onto the nearest thing to me, which happened to be Kurama's neck. Unfortunately, he wasn't prepared for my action, and we both fell against the door.

"Time's up." Yusuke called out. He then opened the door to the closet, causing us both to fall onto the floor, with Kurama on top of me, and my arms still latched onto his neck. Needless to say, everyone was staring at us with wide eyes. Fai's mouth was gaping, and Hiei looked like he was ready to kill someone.

"Nice going, Kurama." Touya said. "You officially have the most successful seven minutes in heaven thus far. I'm impressed."

Kurama sweatdropped, and then I shoved him away. "It's not what it looks like! Nothing happened! I just tripped, that's all!" I shouted, my face going beat red.

"Then why was fox-boy on top of _you_?" Yusuke pointed out.

"JUST SHUT UP!" I exclaimed as I punched him into the wall.

**********

After suffering through many more rounds of seven minutes in heaven, all the other demons left, leaving our group of six, plus Koenma and the girls, to ourselves. Fai was back to being moody around Kurama, though she wasn't completely ignoring him this time, and kept glaring at me. As for Hiei, he kept sending glares to Kurama whenever the opportunity arose. Personally, I still fail to understand what all the fuss is about. It was just a small misunderstanding. But anyway, it was now gift time.

"Here ya go." Fai said as she tossed small packages to everyone except for Hiei and Kurama. They contained a pile of chocolate chip cookies. "And for you, Sparkey-chan..." Fai said with a wide smile. "Here." She handed him a small card. Hiei looked at it curiously for a moment, and then glared suspiciously at Fai.

"What does it say?" I asked. Without a word, Hiei passed me the card. I looked at it, only to find one phrase written on it: **Get out of dealing with Faiyuki for a day.**

"Basically, it's a play off of 'Get out jail free' from Monopoly. Sparkey-chan can hold onto that, and when he feels like it, he'll have a whole day where I don't bother him." Fai explained.

"Can I have one too?!" Yusuke and Kuwabara exclaimed in unison.

"Nope." Fai smiled playfully. The boys pouted, while the rest of us giggled at them. Kurama seemed to be puzzled as to why he didn't receive a gift from Fai, but he was to polite to ask about it.

"Well, thanks for the treats." Shizuru said. "Now here's a gift for you two, from me and Kazu." She tossed Fai and I separate gifts. Fai opened hers, and smiled childishly when she saw a small bell on a choker.

"Awesome." She said as she put in on. She shook her head, and it jingled.

I tore the wrapping off of my gift, and found a brand new sketchbook. "Thanks you two! I've needed a new one." I flipped through it, finding that the pages were nice and thick, which is great for using markers and inking pens.

"Your sixth sense must have been telling you something, Shizuru." Kurama said as he passed me a gift as well. "Seeing as how our gifts for Mo-mo are so well coordinated." Kuwabara's older sister smirked, and then went back to smoking.

I opened Kurama's gift, only to find a large set of copic markers. "Geez, Kurama! These things are expensive as hell! You didn't have to do that."

"It's Christmas. I'm allowed to go all-out." Kurama smiled.

"My turn to pass out gifts!" Botan exclaimed as she circled the room giving everyone small, wrapped boxes. Fai opened hers to find make-up, causing Keiko, Atsuko and Shizuru to stare curiously, since they were still under the impression that Fai's a boy. I got a long, black grim reaper's rope that Botan had found in storage. She figured that since none of the grim reapers use them anymore, and since it seemed to suit me, it would be alright to give it to me.

Next, Keiko passed out her gifts, though Yusuke stated that anything she gave out was from both of them. I got some make-up, which is fine, except that I never wear any. Fai cringed as she received an assortment of bright, almost-neon, colored shirts. Keiko claimed that she wears too much black, and needs some color in her wardrobe. Fai politely said thanks, but I could tell she wasn't planning on wearing them.

"Alright, guess it's my turn." I said as I stood up and passed out identical cards to Keiko, Atsuko, Shizuru, Botan and Yukina. "Spa gift cards. Let's all go sometime." I smiled.

"What a wonderful idea, Mo-mo." Botan said with a smile. "I sure could use a day at the spa!" The others agreed with her as well.

Yusuke got a water gun, just cause I knew he'd have fun with it. Kuwabara got a toy for his cat Eikichi, which I could tell he was grateful for, though he tried to act all manly about it. Kurama got a book on Greek mythology, and Fai got a book on World War II.

"Everyone listen up." Koenma said, attracting our attention. "As thanks for throwing this party for me, and as a Christmas gift to you all, I will not be assigning you any missions during your vacation. Take a break and spend some time with your families."

Yusuke and Kuwabara jumped and shouted with joy, while Hiei and Kurama simply smiled to themselves. I found it a nice relief, to be able to do whatever we wanted for the next two weeks, and I'm sure Fai agreed. After chatting for a while about what we were going to do over the break it was time to go home.

**********

By the time we got off the train in Sarayashiki, it was almost five in the morning. The sun was just rising, and so the sky was illuminated with bright pinks and oranges. Yusuke, Keiko and Atsuko went on ahead, as well as Shizuru and Kuwabara. Kurama pulled Fai to the side so he could talk to her, which meant that I was walking home alone with Hiei.

For a while there was nothing but silence. Come to think of it, we hadn't talked much since we interrogated Fai, and ended up spilling everyone's secrets. Hiei looked like he had something on his mind, but I doubted that he would want to talk about it. Kurama said he got me a gift, so maybe he was just building up the courage to give it to me... Well, there was only one way to find out.

"So, Hiei... I, uh, got you a gift too." I said as I handed him a small wrapped box.

Reluctantly, he took it from me. "You know, I really don't care for these kinds of things." When he opened it, he stared curiously at its contents.

My face heated up as I tried to figure out whether or not he liked it. "I thought of you when I saw it... And I figured you would want to receive it in private rather in front of everyone else... So..." He gently lifted it out of the box. It was a necklace with a silver dragon coiled around a bright red gem. "You like it?"

A small, brief smile formed on his lips and then quickly disappeared. He placed the necklace back in it's box and put it in his pocket. "Yeah. It's nice."

I sighed with relief. "So... Kurama let it slip that you got me something." I smiled playfully, while Hiei cringed as his face turned red. "Well? Come on, let's have it."

Hiei's eyes shot to and from me, as I waited anxiously, and his face got redder and redder. "Look... I, uh... Just want to ask you something first." I stared at him curiously. "Remember when the cat was asking me if I like you, and then you burst out saying that you like me?"

It my turn to go red in the face. "Yeah... What about it?"

"Were you being serious?" He asked. I gave him a questioning look, as I was taken aback by the question. "What I mean to say is that it seemed like you just said that out of impulse, and I want to know if that's how you really feel."

For a moment I simply stared at him, thinking things through. I sighed, and then punched him hard on the head.

"What the hell was that for?!" He shouted.

"I swear... You and Fai are worst than the idiots in shojo anime." I muttered. "Look, I already confessed my feelings. You don't need to ask how I feel about you anymore, because it's perfectly clear; I love you, alright?" While I appeared calm on the outside, my insides were about ready to explode.

For a moment, Hiei stared at me with wide eyes. Then he smirked. "Then I guess I owe you a Christmas gift." He reached into his pocket and then tossed me a tiny box. It looked suspiciously similar to a specific kind of box that certain special pieces of jewellery come in... And sure enough when I opened it, I found a small gold ring inside.

"Wha... Uh..." I stuttered, unable to find the right words... Whatever they were. "Are you propos-"

"No! It's just a promise ring, stupid!" Hiei burst out, not allowing me to finish.

"Uh... Yeah, I knew that..." I mumbled.

"W-what's wrong?" Hiei asked nervously. "Do you not like it? I mean, you said you love me, so..."

"No, I do! I mean... I like it a lot." I smiled.

For a while we stood there, simply looking at each other. The rising sun illuminated everything in a beautiful orange, and birds sand beautifully as they flew overhead. We must have had the same idea, as we shuffled together slowly, and timidly moved our faces close together. My body started to tremble as I bent down slightly, and Hiei stretched upward. I closed my eyes as our lips connected. It kind of brought me back to the first time we had kissed, even if that had been under certain circumstances. I felt Hiei put his hand to my waist and then...

"Well, aren't you two cute!" A familiar, yet unpleasant voice rang out.

"GYAAAAA!" Hiei and I shouted out as we quickly separated, and then turned around, only to be faced with Koray's smiling face.

"Really, you two are adorable! I'm so glad you've finally decided to get toge- hey... What's with the angry looks?"

"You bastard..." I muttered as I summoned my scythe. "YOU DARE INTURRUPT US LIKE THAT?!" I then hit him with the blunt edge, sending him flying a good ways. He skidded across the pavement, and then stood up.

"No need to get violent..." Koray muttered nervously, but then Hiei appeared in front of him.

"I don't care whether or not you feel pain..." Hiei smirked more viciously then ever before. "I'M GOING TO TEAR YOU TO SHREDS AND SIMPLY ENJOY DOING IT!" Hiei drew his sword, and started to swing it at Koray. The father dodged his son's killing strokes, and then jumped onto the top of a nearby building. Hiei pursued him quickly, and before I knew it the two of them were gone.

Great... There goes my romance on a killing spree.

* * *

**God that was long.... and well... you know...**

**R.I.P Koray XD**

**Hope you guys enjoyed it ^^**


	53. Chapter 53

***AIYOKU FAIYUKI'S POV***

"Kurama?" I asked, wondering why he wasn't letting me walk home with Mo-mo. "Are you okay?"

"Yes, I'm fine." He smiled. "It's you I'm worried about; you've been acting a little… unusual since the game earlier."

"Ah, yeah… Just angry at you and Mo-mo for, you know, necking in the closet? Even though she knows that I like you." I frowned. "It goes against some girl's code I never really paid attention to." Don't forget having your very life thrown off track when you least expected it… I added mentally.

"That was all just a misunderstanding." Kurama sighed, holding his hands up in defeat.

"Sure." I frowned. "Here, though." I tossed him the Christmas gift I had found a few weeks earlier. It was a preserved rose that was a deep hue of blue, and was surrounded in a clear crystal shell.

"It's beautiful. Thank you." Kurama smiled, as he came up next to me. "Fai, I've been doing a lot of thinking lately-"

"You can stop there." I inturrupted. "I know where this is going, so just stop cause I'm not going to listen to you."

"You always try to deal with your problems alone, and shut out anyone who wants to help." Kurama continued. "It's not an uncommon thing for people to do, and I know many people like that. But for some reason I get so frustrated when _you_ do it."

"I'm not listening to this, now goodbye." I stated firmly as I started to walk away. I can't let Kurama do this to me. If he knew what I was about to do, he wouldn't be saying all this... And besides, I'm not worthy of him, anyway.

Suddenly, Kurama came up from behind and wrapped one arm around my shoulders, and the other around my waist, keeping me from running away. I tried to stuggle away, but he was stronger than I am. "At first I couldn't understand why I was bothered so much by your actions... But after thinking about it, the only possible reason could be that I cared about you more than anyone else."

"Let me go!" I screamed as I continued to struggle, but Kurama tightened his grip on me.

"Fai, I want to be there at your side... I want to help you through whatever's causing you so much pain."

"STOP IT, KURAMA! I DON'T WANT TO HEAR THIS!" I screamed as tears started to stream down my reddened face. Then Kurama suddenly turned me around and kissed me. As much as I wanted to run away, Kurama's arms were wrapped around me, holding me tightly against his body. Although I wished that I could accept his feelings, it was impossible right now. Tears continued to flow down my face, as I thought about how much I was about to hurt him.

Finally, Kurama ended the kiss. He put his hands on my shoulders, and looked me in the eye, even though mine were directed at the ground. "I love you, Fai." He said in his smooth, calm voice. "Please... Let me be there for you."

I hesitated as more tears fell from my eyes, but I knew I had only one choice. "I'm sorry..." I muttered as I pushed him away from me and ran. I didn't look back to see whether or not he was following me... I couldn't bear to look at his face now.

*********

By the time I got home, my tears were gone, and I prayed that the redness in my face was too. Mo-mo was in bed, and a familiar and unwanted visitor was sitting on mine.

"Serafin." I stated coolly.

"So have you decided?" He smirked, knowing I had. "I know it must have been difficult to believe that the demon you entered into the closet with during that game was me in disguise, but now you see that it was the truth. So? Will you come and serve me? Or shall I kill your friends instead?"

"Hmm, let's see. Three out of the four voices in my head told me to go so my friends could stay alive, and the fourth one told me to go because it's a brilliant opening to get you in the back." I hissed, quietly so I wouldn't wake the unsuspecting Mo-mo in the next room.

This brought a slight chuckle from my current problem. "Would you like to open your gift from your beloved fox before or after we leave? You never know, you might want to leave it." Serafin smirked at me mockingly, as I gave him a confused look.

"Kurama never…" I put my hand into my pockets, to make sure, but sure enough there was a small box that looked oddly familiar. "Must have been while he..." I stopped myself before saying the word 'kiss' as blush spreading across my face.

I slowly opened the small box and a note fluttered to the floor.

_Merry Christmas, Fai._

_I hope you know how I feel now. I promise to be yours, if you be mine._

_Love Kurama._

I blinked as I could feel the tears building up in my eyes again. I restrained them as much as I could and then shoved the note deep into my pocket. I looked to the small box that sat in my other hand. Inside of it was a small silver ring had small red and violet jewels set in it. "A promise ring?" I questioned. "Must be; you propose in person no matter what."

Serafin laughed again. "Such an adorable couple."

"We're not a couple." I stated.

"He just promised himself to you, Kitty." Serafin smirked.

"It doesn't matter, cause I'm not interested in him." I lied. "Can we leave now?" I muttered, dropping the ring into my pocket but sliding the case onto my desk.

"A rejection?" Serafin questioned, smirking at me the whole time. I shoved my hand into my pocket and slid the ring on.

"Light packing." I stated, as I inclined my head towards the door. This conversation was finished.

*********

"So of course, you'll have to prove your loyalty." Serafin stated, sitting on his throne back at the supersized palace.

"Obviously." I growled. "So, who do I kill?"

"The Spirit World's secretary and you're to leave a note as well." This induced a questioning look from me. "For your information, Spirit World killed my first wife a few decades ago; an execution for a crime she was later proved innocent for. Nobody knows what happens when a spirit dies in Spirit World, but it can't be pleasant." Serafin growled. "I'm going to get back at those bastards, and you're going to be my biggest weapon. Of course, we need to save identifying you for later." I blinked as a guard walked up to me and passed me a file. There was a picture of an extremely woman on the front.

"This is her?" I asked. The angry hiss answered my question. "So all I have to do is leave this on the desk, kill Jorge, and do a little redecorating, correct?" I asked, receiving a nod.

"You're going to have a few quick classes with Kyo, just so we don't have to worry about you dying on me just yet." Serafin smirked, as my new teacher grabbed me and dragged me out of the room.

*********

The lessons weren't that difficult; we mainly covered hand to hand and close quarter's blade combat. I was also taught how to use the teleportation technique of the Black Knights.

"So, I have to wear this?" I asked as I pulled up the hood to the long black cape that I wore. "I'm not one of your stupid Knights, why do I have to dress like one?"

"Because you were ordered to." Kyo muttered as he tossed me a small mask; a smooth white surface that would cover the top half of my face, hiding my identity from cameras and any opponents that may survive. "Now hurry up, so I can go report to Lord Serafin."

"Fine." I sighed, as I summoned a black portal. "I'll be back." I stated, as I stepped through. I landed in Koenma's empty office.

I walked over and sat in his chair, propping my legs up onto the desk and getting comfortable. If my briefing was correct, then George would be here in around 5 minutes, with Koenma appearing 10 minutes after.

"Plenty of time." I stated, pulling out the short dagger that had become one of my duo weapons of choice; its twin sitting in its own sheath at my side.

Sure enough George walked into the room, alone. The large doors clicking shut behind him.

"Who are..?" He never finished the question. I covered his mouth with a cloth that had been ready in my hand, sending him into a state of paralysis.

"Now this will only hurt a lot. Sorry, George, but it's on orders that I just can't say no to." I sighed. His eyes rolled around the room, panicked, looking for help or escape. "You're incapable of moving or speaking, but you'll sadly feel all of this." I grabbed two of the pens off Koenma's desk, and with a quick thrust, sent them through George's hands, pinning him to the wall.

His eyes widened in pain, although no sound escaped his lips. I couldn't make eye contact, not that it mattered; I was wearing the mask after all.

I pulled out one of the two daggers and in one smooth slice a deep gash was formed in George's stomach. I continued the cutting frenzy until I came upon a shape that looked almost identical to the symbol on the Fire demon's flag.

I wiped the blade off on the arm of the poor ogre, sheathing it. I slowly bent over, dipping two fingers into the large blood puddle that had formed on the floor underneath George. In big, messy letters I wrote out crudely:

**FUCK YOU SPIRIT WORLD!!!**

Taking one last glance at the folder that I had left on Koenma's desk; one last glance at the pretty face that was causing all of this, I turned to George again.

"I really am sorry." I stated. Suddenly the door burst open, and several loud gasps were heard. I pulled out the two daggers, and in the process of turning around, slit open the ogre's throat.

A gurgling sound erupted behind me, and I couldn't help but wonder if he was drowning on his own blood.

"GEORGE!" Koenma screamed, as Yusuke held him back from the imminent threat: me.

"Bastard..." Yusuke growled under his breath. "I'll kill you!"

"I can't die yet." I stated, looking away from my old friends; who were now my new enemies. "Bad things will happen. Sorry." I ran at them, and as expected they jumped back. I hissed slightly as the small bell on the choker that I still wore rang, but I had managed to summon a portal, which I jumped through, closing it behind me as I escaped into the land the fire demons.

*********

I soon found out I wasn't the only one out on assassination cases. Many members of the Black Knights and Royal Guard were attacking Spirit World at the same time. Most of them were successful. It didn't take long before I was called back into the large thrown room.

"It's time." Serafin stated firmly.

"For what, you to die?" I asked, hopefully. This earned me more than one glare.

"You're going to kill Koenma, and you're going to do it now." Serafin growled. He hadn't been getting much sleep and everybody seemed to be waiting on him to snap.

"But sir! That's not the plan we agree-" Kyo yelled out, before being cut up into several small pieces.

Serafin stood on his thrown, glaring at the dead remains of his most loyal minion. "Any other objections? No? Good." The insane glare was turned to me. "Now get going. Or I'll kill you're damn fox and everybody else you know." I hissed slightly, but turned around, walking into a portal that would once again take me to Spirit World.

*********

"Man this is much more convenient than my old way of getting around." I muttered as I stepped out of the black portal. "I'll really have to give Kyo an offering or something for this trick."

"Who's there!?" A loud voice called out. "Hey! You!" The guard drew his blade, and began to run towards me.

"Idiot." I sighed as I lashed out with a long, thin blade of ice. The man fell onto the ground in two. "Now where is Koenma's office again?" I muttered, as I walked down the hallway. The small bell that hung around my neck made no sound as I walked down the hallway, and I eventually came into a large room. I looked up at the familiar doors.

"Bin-go~" I smiled, although it was hidden by the cuff of the cape I refused to remove. Suddenly an alarm went off and the empty room was filled with guards. "OH COME ON! SO NOT FAIR!" I yelled out in annoyance as I lashed out with another newly formed ice blade. I bit down on my lip as I continued to dance through the guards; dodging and slicing through them with ease. Suddenly a very familiar voice rang out.

"What the hell is going on here?!" Yusuke yelled out as he, Kurama, Hiei, Kuwabara and Mo-mo stood at the doorway.

"GAH! You are KIDDING me!" I yelled out as I threw the body of a guard into three others. "You are leaving. NOW." I pointed at my group of friends that looked confused beyond belief.

"GET HIM!" The guards yelled as they surged in on me, although they were quickly cut down.

"I'm not a him!" I yelled out. Yusuke joined the brawl, though I kicked him across the room, seeing as he had joined the brawl.

"Ow… THAT HURT!" He yelled out, probably more annoyed that I didn't turn my blade on him.

"Then don't attack me." I stated, as I killed off three more guards.

"That voice…" Kurama muttered.

"It doesn't matter. It just seems like he, or she, has to be killed." Hiei smirked.

"I SAID I'M A SHE!" I yelled out, ready to rip the damn mask off.

"Sword grow long!" I ducked to avoid a very long spirit sword/pole that came flying at me. I leapt over to Kuwabara and kicked him in the back of the head, leaving him unconscious.

"Who the hell are you!?" Mo-mo yelled as she lunged at me with her scythe.

"GAH! GO AWAY!" I yelled as I punched her hard in the back of the head and tossed her over at Kuwabara.

"Why won't you attack us properly?!" Yusuke yelled out as he lunged at me again. I barely dodged, and had to hold onto my mask to avoid it flying off.

"Because the whole point of being a bad guy is to protect you guys." I muttered, as I delivered a kick to Yusuke. He blocked it, but slid back towards Mo-mo and Kuwabara.

"Damn it! You're not making any sense!" Yusuke frowned.

"Good." I smiled, as I shot a blast of ice in the general direction of him. "And you may not wanna dodge that." I said as I smiled at his two unconscious friends. As expected, he took the blow. He flew backwards and smashed his head into the wall.

I quickly ran up, checked for a pulse, and moved on once I was sure he was alive.

After killing off the last few guards, I faced Hiei and Kurama, who still blocked the doorway.

"Who are you?" Kurama asked, standing in front of Hiei, almost as if to stop him.

"Me." I stated simply with a shrug, as I pulled up the cuff of my cloak.

"You wouldn't attack us with a blade." Hiei stated growling. "Are you just cocky? Or is there an actual reason?"

"I dunno." I shrugged. "What do you think?"

"I think you're dead." He growled as he stepped around Kurama and lunged at me.

"Really? I don't feel very dead." I smiled as I jumped back. This earned me a glare. Hiei lunged at me, slashing in rapid succession. I could barely stay in one piece. "Oop." I sighed as the cloak was sliced right off me. "I hope they don't expect me to pay for that…" I jumped back, but Hiei followed.

"Why won't you even try to kill us?" Hiei growled, annoyed by my lack of bloodlust.

"Because, it would make Mo-mo sad." I smiled, as I backed away and jumped up high. Once again, Hiei followed.

He got higher than I expected, and his sword was ready to slice me in two. I touched my feet down onto the blade, which instantly cut through the thin slipper like shoes and into my feet.

I hissed in pain but pushed off, so as to distance myself from Sparkey-chan.

I landed painfully behind Kurama, and then the bell bounced; ringing loudly. I instantly brought my hand up to silence the sound.

"Fai." Kurama gasped as he turned around, but before he could face me I quickly pushed the doors open and closed, then sealed them with a thick layer of ice, stopping the boys from pursuing. I turned around and faced Koenma, who actually smiled at me from his desk.

"Get her." Was all he said, in a very cold tone.

"Revenge for the secretary?" I asked, as I dodged a net that had been tossed at me.

"So you are the one that killed George." Koenma muttered a slight quaver in his voice. I smirked, and nodded, continuing forward towards my target.

"FAI STOP!" Kurama yelled out.

"How the **hell** did you get in so fast!?" I yelled out, as I turned around to face the newest problem. The distraction, though, was enough for one of the ropes to get around me, tying my arms to my sides. Several more followed; taking me down to the ground and totally binding me. "Shit." I muttered, as I looked away. "That's cheating; don't take advantage of a distraction like that."

"Fai… Faiyuki?" Koenma muttered, sounding absolutely horrified. "No way... She wouldn't."

Hiei walked over to me, and then forced the mask off with his foot, kicking it away.

"Dammit…" I muttered as I glared at the wall. "IF YOU'RE GOING TO USE MY FRIENDS TO HIRE ME, AT LEAST SAVE MY ASS WHEN I GET CAUGHT YOU STUPID FIRE WAR LORD!" I yelled out, knowing that there was no help for me at this point. I felt a blunt pressure to the back of my head, one of the guards must have kicked me, and everything went black.


	54. Chapter 54

***MO-MO'S POV***

I'd woken up with a bad feeling that morning. No matter what I did I couldn't shake the feeling that someone was going to die.

Fai was gone, and didn't come back after a few days. The boys and I looked everywhere for her, but it was no use. That's what took us to Spirit World... And then everything went to hell.

First Jorge's murder and then multiple attacks from warriors dressed in black. And then an attempt on Koenma's life by a fighter who seemed very familiar. If only we had known who it was...

* * *

"FAI!" I exclaimed as Yusuke, Kuwabara and I ran into Koenma's office. We had only been knocked out for a few minutes after the assault by our friend.

"What the hell happened here?" Yusuke demanded.

"Well... I'm not too sure, really." Koenma said.

"At least one thing can be said for certain; she tried to kill Koenma." Hiei stated as he nudged the unconscious Faiyuki with his foot. Guards then proceeded to pick her up and carry her off to the Spirit World jail.

"But why?" Kuwabara demanded. "There must have been a reason! She wouldn't just betray us out of nowhere!"

"Koenma, could you possibly find out where she was over the past few days?" Kurama asked.

"That's not necessary, because I already have an idea." He said as he reached into the drawer of his desk and pulled out a folder. On the front was a beautiful woman. "Faiyuki confessed to being Jorge's murderer, and this was found at the scene of the crime."

"Who is she?" I wondered.

"She was Serafin's first wife." Koenma explained. "A long time ago, my father had arrested, and executed her for a crime she was later proven innocent of. With this piece of evidence, we can be certain that Serafin is out for revenge, and had wanted to use Faiyuki as his greatest weapon; since she is one of us."

"Well, if that's the case, then release her!" Yusuke shouted.

"It's not that simple." Koenma said, narrowing his eyes. "There are too many unknown factors to consider that make her a possible threat to Spirit World: Why did she help him? Was she under a spell, or did she do it of her own free will? And if she was under a spell, there could be a possibility that it's still active, or that Serafin can activate it at any time. And on top of that, we need to know whatever information she may have on Serafin."

"So what will happen to her now?" I asked.

"We'll wait until she's conscious, and then find out whatever we can. But since this involves Serafin and his war, my father will be the final judge on what happens to her."

"But, Koenma, you're forgetting something important." I said, attracting everyone's attention. "If Serafin is killed, then Fai will be free of any charge or suspicion."

"Well, that is true, but..." Koenma started,

"Good, then lets go guys." I said as I walked out of the office. The others followed, knowing full well what the plan was from here on.

* * *

I punched a large tree, causing it to explode with my aura. "DAMN THAT SERAFIN!" I screamed out, if only to blow off some steam. First that bastard kidnaps us, then he possesses us, nearly forcing us to marry him, and now he made Fai do his bidding... The anger I felt towards him was unbearable. "I'll put that bastard through so much torment he'll _wish_ he was in hell..."

"But first we've got to get there." Yusuke said, falling into thought.

"Yeah, and doesn't that guy have, like, an army or something to defend him?" Kuwabara shouted out.

"Whatever the risk, we're still going. That man has done more than I can forgive." Kurama said with a dark expression on his face. Deep down, he probably felt just as angry as I was. "But of course, we'll still need a plan."

"Since we have to fight an army, shouldn't we gather some help?" Kuwabara suggested.

"Yeah, but who can we get on such short notice?" I muttered.

"Hey, what about me?" We heard Koray say, as he seemingly appeared out of nowhere. Oddly enough, we'd all become used to him just popping up. "I figured you'd be planning on taking down Serafin, so I came to help."

"Seriously?" Kuwabara exclaimed with an excited expression. Koray nodded.

"Well, I never thought I would be happy to have you around." Yusuke said with a smirk.

"I hope you're not expecting compensation for this." Kurama said, eyeing Koray curiously.

"No, not this time. I'll just sleep better, knowing that Serafin's gone for good." Koray said with a smile. "Oh, and I should probably let you know that I brought a couple friends who were very eager to help."

"Oh? Who would that be?" Yusuke and Kuwbara asked.

Koray suddenly became nervous, and a large sweatdrop appeared on the side of his head. "Weeell, don't get mad or anything, but..."

Suddenly I felt a familiar aura, and then, "MO-MO!"

"AHHHH!" I screamed as I was startled by a pair of hands wrapping around me from the back. I slowly turned my head to see onyx hair and purple eyes amidst a bright, smiling face. "Yuki..." I muttered as my mind slowly comprehended the fact that the vampire was back.

"It feels great to hold you in my arms again, Mo-mo." The vampire said as he held me tighter. "And the scent of you blood is as wonderful as ever."

I sighed. "Yeah, yeah, that's great. Now let me go, please?" Yuki pouted, but obeyed. I then saw a blur in the corner of my eye, and then Yuki was sent into the air as the tip of a sheathed sword hit him under his chin. Although the vampire was surprised, he did a flip in midair and landed on his feet with ease. He smirked at Hiei, was already glaring harshly.

"Such a protective master as usual." Yuki said challengingly. Hiei, however, gritted him teeth and keep quiet.

"What the hell are you doing here?" Yusuke exclaimed as he, Kuwabara and Kurama got into defensive positions.

"You mean what are _we_ doing here?" A new voice sounded out. Kirane then appeared next to his twin brother and glared at us with angry eyes. "I heard that my Kitten was arrested. I came here to get her out, but this man approached us and said that if a fire demon named Serafin is killed then Kitten will be released. Is this true?"

"According to Koenma, yes." Kurama stated.

"I see." Kirane smiled. He then approached Kurama, and looked the fox demon in the eye. "Understand this: I will be the one who saves Kitten. If you get in my way, I won't hesitate to kill you."

"Assuming that you _can_." Kurama said, giving the vampire his youko glare.

"Now, now, you two... Let's just try to get along, okay?" Koray said as he separated the two.

"I've got a bad feeling about this..." Kuwabara muttered.

"Doesn't take a sixth sense to figure that one out." I replied as I glanced at the vampire who was eagerly staring at me.

* * *

"Huh... So that's what his palace or evil lair or whatever it is looks like..." I muttered as we stood on a cliff that overlooked a large, black castle. Although I had previously been inside it, I was out of it when we arrived, so I never saw the exterior.

"Once we continue past this point, we'll be on the fire demon's territory." Koray explained. "There are plenty of foot soldiers who'll attack us immediately, but I'll take care of them while you guys sneak inside."

"You think we're incapable of fighting a large group?" Kirane said impatiently.

"Not at all. However, this way we save time." Koray replied. "And since fire is one of the few ways that you vampires can be killed, it might not be wise for you to rush into a fight with a large group of fire demons."

"He's right. Besides, when facing Serafin we'll have strength in numbers." A very uptight Kurama said. Kirane sent him a glare, but seemed satisfied by the fact that he would have the chance to personally kill Serafin.

"Alright then, Koray. Do your thing." Yusuke said, with an excited smirk.

"Sure." Koray smirked. He then jumped off the cliff, and started running straight towards the castle. Within seconds we could see his aura flare with black flames that spread throughout the land in front of the castle. The flames then expanded into the air, and formed a large western-style dragon that was almost as big as the castle. Soldiers had already begun to rush out, though from where we stood they looked nothing more like ants. We all knew that the soldiers were simply rushing to their death, since the flames can incinerate everything including fire demons.

"We should get going." Hiei said.

"Yes, I agree." Kurama continued. "Kuwabara, perhaps you could use the dimensional sword to get us inside quicker?"

"Gimme a break! I've told you guys before that I don't have much control over where this thing sends us!" Kuwabara shouted.

"What a pity!" I said loudly. "Yukina will be _so_ disappointed to know that her powerful knight is just a weakling who can't even perform a simple task. Oh well, such is life."

Suddenly Kuwabara's face became filled with an overwhelming inspiration. "WHAT? WHO'S A WEAKLING? DON'T WORRY YUKINA, I WON'T LET YOU DOWN! _DIMENSIONAL SWORD!_"

We all jumped into the dimensional slice created by Kuwabara's sword, and landed in a familiar hallway. I recognized the corridor from when we were previously there, and I'm sure the others did too. We felt the building tremble, which was probably because of Koray's dragon. Without further ado we started to run through the hallways, led by Kuwabara and his sixth sense to wherever Serafin was.

Along the way, we ran into some guards who had stayed behind. I went to attack them but before I could, a white whip flew ahead of me, killing anyone within my reach. I sent Yuki some menacing glares, but he continued to fight for me, which earned him glares from Hiei as well. Yusuke and Kuwabara seemed to be having a good time; while on the other hand, there was so much tension between Kurama and Kirane it almost seemed as though they were in some sort of competition. It was quite weird for Kurama, but we all knew that he was only doing this for Faiyuki.

"This way, guys!" Kuwabara called out once we (or rather they) had finished ploughing through the remainder of the guards. "He's right through this door up ahead!"

We burst through the door, entering into a large throne room and sure enough, Serafin sat at the far end. He was dressed in elegant black and red robes, and his glowing crimson eyes stared at us with an infuriating look of superiority.

"I take it you've all come to end everything." Serafin said with a smirk.

"You've got that right!" I shouted out. "But more importantly, I'm gonna pay you back for what you did to Fai!"

Serafin's smirk became wider. "Such fools... You realize that once you're eliminated, there isn't anyone in Spirit World who can stand up to me."

"Heh. Now I understand what's been goin' through your head all this time." Yusuke stated confidently. Serafin stared curiously. "You're _afraid_ of us."

"Ha. You must be truly desperate to lean back on that pitiful excuse." The fire demon snickered.

"Hardly." Kurama said in a cold voice. "In fact, it makes perfect sense; since the start you've done nothing but target Fai and Mo-mo, which can mean one of two things: You're either afraid of our group as a whole and targeted the two weakest members to give the impression that you have an advantage over us... Or you're afraid of Mo-mo and Faiyuki's hidden potential and decided to get rid of them early, or else force them to join you by using your telepathic powers."

"You're sadly mistaken." Serafin said. "You see, I'm not afraid of anyone."

"Quite frankly, it doesn't matter what his motives were or why he targeted the girls..." Kirane stated through gritted teeth. "All that matters is that he hurt Kitten, and for that I will deliver him death! Shadow Whip!"

Serafin jumped back to avoid a stroke from Kirane's black whip. Just as he landed, Yuki appeared behind him and attacked with his Holy Whip. Serafin did several back flips to avoid the slashes coming from both whips. The vampires gritted their teeth in frustration as Serafin had not received a single scratch from their efforts. Yuki shot us a look that said that they would probably need help, even if they didn't want it.

"Let's go." Kurama commanded.

"Sure thing." The rest of us agreed.

Our group of five charged in Serafin's direction. Kuwabara summoned his Spirit Sword and began attacking Serafin. The fire demon was able to dodge his sword with ease, as were most opponents, and then sent Kuwabara flying with a hard kick. Kirane tried to take advantage of the situation and attacked Serafin once more with his whip, however the fire demon disappeared. In less than a second, Kirane's back had been deeply cut from a slash by Serafin's flame-surrounded hand.

As Kirane fell to the ground in a mess of blood, Hiei moved in to attack. He drew his katana but Serafin drew a large sword of his own, and the two began a fast-paced dual that was barely visible to the naked eye. After a few minutes of attempting to see what was going on between Hiei and Serafin, something flew in our direction and landed at my feet. Upon closer examination I found that it was the tip of Hiei's sword. Not a moment later, Hiei too was thrown back and crashed into the wall, unconscious.

Yuki charged in, probably taking the opportunity to try and outdo Hiei. He shouted out loudly as his whip lashed at Serafin at an insane speed; I could hardly see what was happening. Serafin seemed annoyed by the vampire's persistence, and sent flames towards him. Yuki dodged the first blow, but Serafin spread the flames to encompass the entire room. Yuki, not to mention the rest of us who were still conscious, tried to stay out of the flames that surrounded and threatened to melt us. Through the corner of my eye I saw Kurama throw something into the flames, and then a huge plant with sprouted up. It sprayed water everywhere, extinguishing the fire. Once we could all focus again, we realized that Serafin had disappeared.

"Yuki, look out!" Kurama called out to the vampire, but it was too late. The long blade that had cut Hiei's sword like Christmas dinner plunged into Yuki. As the long blade went through Yuki's stomach and out his back, Serafin jerked it roughly to the side, dragging the blade through the leather-like flesh of the vampire and opening a huge wound. Yuki gasped out in pain, before jumping away and falling off to the side.

He tried to cover the wound with his shirt to stop the bleeding, but it seems even vampires suffer from blood-loss, and he fell to the floor unconscious. In the meantime, Serafin had wasted no time in cutting Kurama's plant into pieces before a command could be given to it.

In a fit of rage Yusuke let out a loud cry and charged Serafin. He launched many aura-filled punches and kicks, but Serafin was much faster than him. It seemed to be a losing battle, until Yusuke finally managed to deliver a punch to Serafin's face. The fire demon staggered back, but quickly regained his footing. He smirked as he jumped back and gathered flames into his hands, and then launched it in Yusuke's direction. The Spirit Detective dodged but the flames kept coming, and it was all he could do to avoid getting hit. In a last desperation Yusuke shot off a huge Spirit Gun, hitting Serafin head on and creating a large explosion that consumed them both.

I thought for sure that this would be the end of the fight; after all, who could survive a Spirit Gun that powerful, head on? As the smoked and dust from the blast cleared away I saw that I was wrong.

"How..?" I muttered, staring at the unconscious Yusuke who had burns on his shooting hand, and Serafin who, besides a few scrapes, seemed totally fine. "It's impossible!" I shouted out, taking a step back.

"Well, now. It started out seven again one, but there's only two of you left." Serafin smirked at Kurama and I.

"Yeah, well screw you!" I shouted as I swung my scythe, launching a linear attack of aura. Serafin stepped to the side, avoiding my strike, but then Kurama appeared behind him and swung his rose whip. Serafin dodged every one of Kurama's strokes until I focused my aura into my hand, and then placed my hand on the floor, sending random blasts of aura shooting out from the floor under the fire demon. This caught Serafin off-guard; he jumped into the air in the hopes of avoiding the blasts, but it was no use. He got hit in the leg and the shoulder. As he landed, he fell to his knees and gripped his severly wounded shoulder.

"Interesting." Kurama said with an amused smirk. "This time around your movements were slower. You must have been wounded. The only one who could have done that was Yusuke, when he fired his Spirit Gun."

"Don't think this means you can win." Serafin stated as he disappeared yet again. I tried with all my might to sense where he could show up next, since there were now only two people he would be targeting, but he had completely hidden his aura.

"Mo-mo! Block!" Kurama shouted.

"Wha-" I exclaimed as I quickly put my scythe in a defensive position, only to instantly recieve the force of Serafin's blade. Despite the wound to his leg, Serafin was on his feet, and I could tell he was going to over power me. Sure enough, he managed to push me back and then kicked me hard, sending me flying before I crashed into the wall.

I moaned as I tried to get up. My back, not to mention the spot on my chest where I had been kicked, hurt like hell. I suppose I was lucky that he's wounded, otherwise I'd probably be unconscious.

"Mo-mo, are you alright?" Kurama demanded as he rushed to my side and helped me up.

"Yeah, I'm-" I was cut off as a blade pierced through Kurama's stomac. He let out a cry of pain as I stared with wide eyes, unsure of what to do.

Serafin smirked triumphantly from behind Kurama. "You should know better than to look out for others in a situation like this."

"And you should know better than to underestimate your opponents." Kurama stated as he gripped the blade of Serafin's sword with one hand, and from the sleeve of his other hand emerged vines that quickly extended and stabbed the fire demon in the torso. Serafin let out a gasp of shock before he released his blade and jumped away from us. Kurama began to fall to the ground, and I caught him halfway down.

"Kurama, are you alright? I mean, you're not gonna die or anything, right?" I said with a shaky voice. If Kurama was taken out, then there was no way that I would stand a chance against this monster.

Kurama gave me a reassuring smile. "Don't worry, I won't die... But I've lost a lot of blood... I'm sorry Mo-mo, but it looks like you're going to have to finish this."

"C-come on, don't do this to me..." I stuttered, as all my confidence fadded.

"Don't worry, I know you can do it... You're a lot stronger than you think... With Serafin wounded like that, you can do it... So take vengence... for Fai..." And with that, Kurama drifted into unconsciousness.

That was it. I was the only one left. I looked over at the wounded fire demon, who was probably still stronger than me, as he stared back with a fierce expression. Despite the fact that I was terrified and that my entire body was trembling, I knew there was no backing down now. Kurama entrusted me with taking revenge for Fai, and that was something I had to carry out.

"You and your friends have caused me more trouble than you're worth." Serafin stated as his face twisted into a sadistic smile. "But now it ends." With that Serafin charged at me.

"Like hell it does." I muttered as I got into a ready position and focused. If I wanted to win this, I would have to follow my instincts; kick out logic and do the impossible. Unfortunately that was much easier said than done. I was knocked to the ground countless times, and I was just about to pass out when Serafin suddenly started to laugh.

"I thought you said it wasn't ending, I really expected more after such powerful words. Maybe you need motivation? Maybe I should crush that little ice sluts son? Step on his head, I bet it would have a wonderful crunch to go along with it!" Serafin once again laughed maniacally.

"SCREW OFF!" I yelled out, as I struggled to stand, and then fell again, and once again stood. Using one last burst of energy I shot myself at Serafin, Surprisingly the fist I had aimed hit him square in the head, and he went flying back, followed by streamer-like ribbons of black energy. Suddenly he began to scream, scream as if he were burning. When I looked up from my crouching position over Hiei, I realized the reality was worse. He was **decomposing**.

Serafin's skin, starting at his face where my punch had connected, was rotting away as if decades had gone by, and it wasn't stopping there. Thin stream of the decaying skin ran down his neck, and could be seen on his hands. I wouldn't be surprised if he was just a maze of grey lines under his robes.

"Mo-mo... What the hell did you..." I heard a struggling and confused Hiei almost whisper from under me. It was the last thing I heard before I passed out.

* * *

**What's this? WE LIVE :O**

**Um... Yeah... I owe you all an apology for taking so gosh darned long to get this out. I wish FF had a journal option so i could just keep you updated like that, but anyway... I had written half the chapter waaaay back in april, but then school ended so i had to move back into my parents house. You would think that this would give me more time to write, but somehow it just doesn't o.o But yeah, i suffered from a serious case of writers block. HOWEVER with lots of help from our wonderful co-author Yuki, i have finally completed it! And so TNH shall continue! **


	55. Chapter 55

***AIYOKU FAIYUKI'S POV***

"Ugh, shut up!" I growled at my two cellmates. If Koenma wasn't going to have me killed for killing George, then he'd kill me for destroying his jail, and all the inmates in it.

"It's all that damned Yusuke's fault." Rando growled, trying to outdo the glare I had aimed at him and Goki. Both had been complaining since they found out I was a teammate of the reason why their lives sucked.

"That damned fox, that stupid midget… I knew they'd betray me! I knew it was coming!" The big brute of a demon yelled out.

"I GET IT!" I yelled, standing up and catching the attention of the nearby guards. "I get that you guys were so _pathetic_ that you couldn't outdo Yusuke and Kurama! Of course, Sparky-chan may have had a _slight_ influence… Anyways! SHUT UP BEFORE I RIP OUT YOUR VOCAL CORDS!" I screamed with a slight twitch to my eye. The two demons blinked at my outburst.

Goki opened his mouth to speak, but any chance was stopped as to my foot found his face with a 'bonk' sound. I suddenly heard the familiar voice of Kurama, which sounded like it could have come from down the hallway.

"Why do I always hear Kurama's voice in captive circumstances?" I whined loudly, "First with that stupid fire god, and now in jail!" I sighed; clearly I needed to have my head checked out. I looked at the slim ring that sat on my finger, a fond smile on my face as I pushed my foot harder into Goki's head.

"It's only natural for you to hear what's being spoken, unless you're hearing impaired." Mo-mo grumbled.

Wait, Mo-mo?

"YOU GUYS LIVE!" I shoved off Goki's face in my excitement, sending myself flying towards the bars. "How did you guys get in here?" However, before my question could be answered, I was shoved to the floor.

"Damn you Urameshi!" Rando yelled out from his perch on my head, "I'll kill you!"

"SETTLE DOWN OVER THERE!" A guard yelled from up the hallway. I twitched.

"Yeah, settle down… JUST NOT ON ME!" I grabbed his foot then threw him into the wall, leaving an impression as he peeled off and slid to the floor. "Anybody else wanna invade my personal bubble?" I glared at my other cellmate, who looked as if he _wanted_ to challenge me, but instead he slinked back into the corner. "Good boy." I smiled, "Now back to what I was saying; MO-MO!" I said with joy, as I glomped her through the bars of the cell.

"What are we, chopped liver?" Yusuke laughed. I paused, holding a straight face. "Yes."

I heard an all too familiar chuckle, and my eyes lit up as I flushed. I quickly shoved my hands behind my back and coughed slightly, refusing to meet the redhead's gaze.

"H-hi." I muttered awkwardly, slinking back further in the cell. I tripped over Rando, who was still in a pile on the floor. I turned to him and glared, rubbing my soar backside.

"Was that a ring on your finger, cat?" Hiei smirked, sending me a cold look.

"You need to get all three eyes checked." I glared back, "I don't wear jewellery."

"I'm sure I saw a ring." Yusuke teased, probably revenge for the chopped liver comment.

"You're drunk. Kuwabara don't say anything." I growled before the big brute could gang up on me as well. Suddenly I felt a burning on my hands... "OW!" I yelled out, pulling them in front of me.

"Yes, that is definitely a ring." Mo-mo smiled.

"Mo-mo! That's cheating!" I whined, hiding my hand again. "It's just something I picked up!"

"Of course. Sure." Mo-mo grinned. I glowered, knowing I wasn't being let out of this.

"Well, what are you guys here for? As you can see, I'm just getting comfortable in my new home for the rest of eternity, and the whole shebang." I sent a chilling glare at my cellmates, who by now were glowering at the group in front of me.

"Don't get too comfortable." Yusuke grinned.

"What?" I questioned, tilting my head to the side. "Why not?"

"Because Serafin is taken care of, so you can be released." Kuwabara spoke up, probably taking it as safe.

"Huh?" I stared dumbly at them. "How'd you manage that?"

"We're not exactly sure ourselves..." Yusuke muttered as he rubbed the back of his head. "We were loosing big-time, and most of us were knocked unconscious, so Mo-mo was up against him alone. By the time we had woken up, Serafin was melted, or something."

"Melted?" I questioned with disbelief. "But Mo-mo uses aura."

"Decomposed would be more accurate." Kurama stated.

"I'm not really sure what I did either." Mo-mo said with a sigh. "I just focused on beating him, and he suddenly just... fell apart. Whatever it was, I don't think it would have worked if Yusuke and the others hadn't weakened him."

"I see..." I muttered, still not entirely sure about what happened.

"Anyway, lets get you outta here!" Kuwabara exclaimed.

"NUU! Do not let me go where my emotions can run rampant and screw up my brain further! I LIKED IT BETTER WHEN IT WAS JUST VOICES!"

Kurama sweatdropped as I glared at the bars, hoping to turn them into a thick wall by some form of miracle.

"Whatever, let's just get out of here." Hiei growled. "Guard, hurry up before I MAKE you hurry." Hiei glared. The guard rushed, almost dropping his keys, as he slid the door open and dragged me out, slamming the door shut before anybody else could escape.

We walked down towards Koenma's office, me pulling uncomfortably against the tag they had on my arm, effectively sealing away my powers.

I coughed, the silence extremely awkward for me, unfortunately the five sets of eyes that turned were worse.

"Ah, you know I think I liked it in my cell better so…" I tried to turn around but Yusuke just tossed me in Kurama's general direction.

"You're going to talk to Koenma and we're going to get this whole mess figured out." Mo-mo said, clearly not giving any other options. I glared, probably the only honestly angry glare I've ever given her, but obliged.

* * *

"I can't see Mo-mo?" I shouted out, all the while being restrained by Yusuke and Kuwabara, "Why the hell not baby breath!" This was definitely a point of regret for not killing the baby lord when I had the chance.

"You two are always targeted together," Koenma stated, for probably the seventh time. "So you can't see each other for the next week, to see if the pattern will change."

"Where's Mo-mo gonna live?" I pointed to Mo-mo, horror clear on my face.

"The question is where _you _will live." Yusuke laughed mischievously from behind me.

"What are you talking about… Mo-mo, you're not…" I looked at her, even more horrified than before.

Mo-mo smiled awkwardly as she spoke, "Well… you see… Hiei and I have this assignment thingie, where we have to watch this little living doll thing… He's going to be staying-"

"DO NOT SAY IT! DO NOT FINISH!" I shouted, flinching away "Sparky-chan. If any… and I MEAN ANY of my things are damaged in ANY WAY SHAPE OR FORM, and I do not **care** if there is a spontaneous fire not caused by you, I WILL KILL YOU!" Hiei just blinked at me, but then a cruel smirk spread across his face.

"A-hem." Koenma cleared his throat, and we all turned to face him. "Anyways, because you have a similar project with Kurama, in fact I believe it's the same project, you'll be staying with-"

"DO NOT SAY IT!" I shouted, nearly in tears. "This is karma… bitter karma." I muttered, my head falling in defeat.

The group just looked at me as I continued to mutter about how I wanted to just be put back in my 'safe little cell', but then something hit me; "Wait! Kurama! What have I missed!" I shot out of Yusuke's grip and was spontaneously in front of the befuddled red-head. "THE MATH TEACHER IS GOING TO KILL ME! Wait, did I miss break?" I blinked, finally stopping my rant.

"Break is coming up, and the teacher isn't going to kill you. I told her you were sick." Kurama smiled.

"What would I do without you, besides go without emotional trauma?" I smiled, before feeling pressure on my wrist. "What the..?" I blinked at the glowing wristband. "What's this do?" I poked at it, and noticed a similarly glowing chain leading away from me.

"To make sure you're supervised, and don't try to sneak away, or get into contact with Mo-mo, you're going to be attached to Kurama until the period of your probation is finished." Koenma explained, to both me and Kurama, who clearly had no say in the matter, or knowledge of it.

"But wait! Koenma, what if we have to change or shower or…" I stared, even more horrified than before.

"It has a chain of 10 feet; you should be fine." Koenma smiled, almost cruelly.

"What about sleeping?" I shouted; any regret I may have had for killing George down the drain.

"You figure it out." Koenma shrugged. "That's all."

* * *

Kurama and I sat awkwardly in his living room. His family had gone out, oh so conveniently, on an all expenses paid vacation for three. Kurama, of course, was happy to let them have their fun.

"Well, I guess I'll go make dinner." I finally sighed. As I walked towards the kitchen my arm was jerked sharply behind me, and a loud thump was heard. I span around, summoning blades of ice, which I almost sent flying at Kurama.

Kurama was sitting on the ground, his arm stretched out towards me, still smiling awkwardly.

"Right, distance limit." I muttered, dissolving the daggers away. He stood up and followed me into the kitchen. I made an easy meal, just some fried rice and fish, which was eaten in near silence.

"Thank you." I finally muttered under my breath.

"Hm?" He questioned silently as he looked at me.

"For the ring. It's nice." I muttered, still not making eye contact.

"Oh! Well I tho-"

"Hello, you two!" Kurama was cut off as Botan appeared in the kitchen.

"How did you..?" I asked before she went into a hyped rant.

"We're all having a welcome back party for Fai at Kuwabara's house, and Koenma's given permission for both Fai and Mo-mo to attend!" Botan inhaled deeply, then before letting us speak she started again. "Oh and this box was on your doorstep. It's from the school! I think it's the assignment that you were talking about!"

The box was dropped on the table, and I opened it.

"A doll?" I asked, "And bracelets?" Kurama snapped one of the bracelets onto his wrist, then the other onto mine. Suddenly the doll started crying, as Botan screeched and jumped back.

"It's the task I was talking about. It's kind of like a survey, done by the city, to see how well teens can deal with babies." He picked up the doll and started rocking it. The wailing sound soon stopped. And I sighed in relief. "We have to take care of this until the end of break. Mo-mo and Hiei, as well as Yusuke and Kuwabara, are also doing the project."

"So how was this decided?" I muttered, grabbing the little things from the table, a coupon for diapers, a bottle, and a pacifier.

"Random draw." Kurama smiled.

"Go figure." I growled, and then turned to Botan, "What was this party you were talking about?"

"I got permission from Koenma for us all to have a party at Kuwabara's place to welcome you back!" She glomped me, and I was very tempted to defy the long list of things that I was ordered _not_ to do while on probation.

"Botan, don't make me break the law, please. I'm actually quite content out of prison." She abruptly let go. "When is it?"

"We're all waiting on you two!" Just as quickly as she had let me go she grabbed onto me again.

"And I'm not going to get arrested or anything for this?" I asked, frowning at her.

"No, silly! Now come on!" Botan proceeded to drag Kurama and I out of the house, to the bus station, and onto a bus.

* * *

I held the crying doll, eventually getting it to shut up. I was officially going to kill the genius who thought of this survey thing. Botan knocked on the door of the two story house excitedly, and we were welcomed warmly.

Walking in I saw Hiei and Mo-mo, and I burst out laughing.

"Is Hiei… Is Hiei a daddy now!" I laughed. He glared at me, and the doll in his arm broke out in a loud cry. Hiei glared at the doll, and surprisingly it abruptly obeyed.

"Oh my god, his look killed the doll..." I blinked.

"This is why Hiei's holding it." Mo-mo smiled.

The evening was full of chatter and drinking, despite the fact that just about every one of us was under-age. I'd had quite a few more drinks than I should have, and I could tell because I was extremely light-headed and the room seemed to be constantly moving.

"This's all well and good," Shizuru started as she walked into the room, drunk as well. "But how're you kids gonna get home?"

"Awww, don worry 'bout it." A wobbly Yusuke stated. "Kurama's the DD, so we're all good."

Suddenly, the fox demon stood up. He looked kind of angry, and I had to catch the doll which fell off his lap. "Forgive me, Yusuke, but you seem to be mistaken. I **REFUSE** to be the designated driver this time!" And, to everybody's surprise, he yanked the top off a very large bottle of beer and chugged the whole thing. Lucky for him we were all too drunk to do anything other than laugh about it.

"TRUTH OR DARE!" I yelled out of the blue, causing everybody to stop laughing and stare at me.

"Awesome! I'm in!" Yusuke yelled as he dragged his beer over to an empty spot on the floor. Kuwabara jumped in after him. Mo-mo finally made it over, and Hiei (the only one who didn't seem to be effected by the alcohol) just glared from his spot on the couch.

"What's wrong Sparky-chan? To chicken?" I giggled. "Hiei is _scared_!" I chanted, with Yusuke and Kuwabara soon joining in. Finally, with a furious glare, Hiei sat in the circle. Kurama joined us and that was that.

Hiei refused to let me go first, so we tried to use rock, paper, scissors to decide the starter. Much to Hiei's discontent, it was me.

"HIEI! TRUTH OR DARE!" I pointed, as if accusing a guilty man in court.

"Dare?" Hiei questioned. "What's a-"

"I DARE YOU TO BE STUCK TO MO-MO FOR THE REST OF THE NIGHT! HAH!" Botan, appearing out of nowhere, grabbed onto both Hiei and Mo-mo's wrists. When she pulled her hand back spirit cuffs, similar to what Yusuke used to train in the dark tournament.

"What the hell!" Hiei growled, very angry with the current situation.

"Your turn!" I smiled, practically begging for a death wish. "And you can't pick who chose you! Then nobody else will get a turn!" Hiei glared, and then looked to Kurama.

"Truth or dare, fox." He muttered in defeat.

"Hmm... I'll go with dare." Kurama smiled drunkly.

Hiei sighed as he fell into thought. He seemed to be thinking hard, as he was most likely extremely pissed off about what I did to him. Then his face slowly twisted into a sadistic smirk. "I dare you to go to school in the girls uniform."

"WHAT? NO!" I screamed out of impulse. Everyone turned their eyes to me, and I looked over to Kurama, whose eyes were wide with shock, hoping that he would flat out refuse the dare.

The redhead sighed and said, "It seems I have no choice." Yusuke and Kuwabara burst out laughing, while Hiei put on a superior smirk.

I pointed at Hiei, nearly crying. "You, Sparky-chan, are honest evil. Screw whatever your father's done. YOU are evil!"

More or less ignoring me, the gang continued the game. It was Kurama's turn, and he turned with a kind of scary smile towards Kuwabara.

"Kuwabara. Truth or dare."

"Dare of course!" He half yelled, puffing out his chest proudly.

"I dare you to kiss Yukina the next time we see her." Kurama said without a pause, and a playfully innocent smile.

"WHAT!" Hiei and Kuwabara exclaimed. Of course, Kuwabara was nothing less than overjoyed, while Hiei was absolutely outraged.

I turned to Hiei and smiled diabolically. "What's wrong, Hiei? Are you _jealous_? Or is it something else?"

"Shut up!" Hiei glared. I shrugged my shoulders in response.

We all turned our eyes to Kuwabara, who was blushing and wore a big, goofy grin as he thought about kissing his love. Finally, he snapped himself out of his trance and turned to Yusuke, "Truth or dare, Urameshi."

"Hm... Truth is boring, so I'll have to go with dare." Yusuke grinned. Kuwabara paused to think really hard, though it almost looked painful.

"A-HA! I have such an amazing dare you won't know what hit you!" Kuwabara tried, and failed, to look intelligent. "Go jump out the window!" Kuwabara smiled. "Then I'll fight you, and finally win fair and square!"

"That's hardly fair…" I muttered. "But a dare is a dare!" Yusuke, without missing a beat, stood up and ran at the window. A few seconds later Yusuke appeared behind Kuwabara, and punched him hard in the head, knocking the poor fool unconscious.

"Idiot." Hiei muttered. It must have been my intoxication, but that was the funniest thing in the world to me, and I burst out laughing.

After I finally got under control, mostly, the game continued. Yusuke then turned to me, with a wide smirk on his face. "Truth or dare, Fai?"

"Tr-" Suddenly everything faded in and out, and I heard a familiar voice in my head, though for some reason I couldn't quite pin-point who it was.

'_Pick dare.'_ It said, _'Pick dare.'_

'_But I don't wanna.' _I thought in return.

'_Dammit! Just pick dare!" _The voice yelled.

I could hear myself saying "Dare." Instead of my intended 'truth'. Everything came back into focus and Mo-mo was grinning at me. "Pardon me?" I blinked, totally missing what had just been said.

"I dare you to kiss Kurama." Yusuke stated proudly, as if he had come up with a genius plan to end world hunger or something.

"NO! I REFUSE!" I yelled as I made to escape. However, I felt a tug on my arm, and I was pulled back by the chain that was attached to Kurama. "DAMN YOU KOENMA! I SWEAR WHEN I DIE, I'LL HAUNT YOU!"

"What's the matter, Fai? It's not as though we haven't kissed before." Kurama said non-chalantly.

"NO! You say NOTHING!" I shouted at the redhead, who sighed in defeat. Yusuke, Kuwabara and Mo-mo kept egging me on to do it, while I thought over my options; I could knock them all out, but that would be too difficult... And I couldn't escape because of the chain around my wrist, which I can't break. Which meant that there was only one option left.

I took a deep breath, then said, "Fine. I'll do it." So I leaned down, and placed a very light peck on Kurama's cheek. "HA! You never said it had to be on the lips, and now it's too late to take it back, stupid detective!"

"Damn it, she's right!" Yusuke muttered in disappointment. "I should have known she'd pull something like this!"

"Not much of a detective, eh?" I stated, with my pride still intact. "Now, then... Mo-mo, truth or dare?"

"Meh, might as well pick dare since that's what everyone else chose." She smiled.

"I dare you to kiss Hiei! And before you do anything, it has to be on the lips! Ha!" I shouted, pleased with my vengence.

For a moment, Mo-mo simply stared at me blankly, but then her face twisted into a childish smile. "Okay!" She said with excitment as she turned to the side and placed her lips on Hiei's. The fire demon's eyes instantly widened, as he barely had any time to react, and out of impulse he tried move away, causing Mo-mo to fall on top of him.

Everyone else in the room burst out laughing, as from under Mo-mo all we could see were a pair of flailing arms and legs. Mo-mo's face went red from embarassment as she got off of Hiei, who immediately tried to run away. However, he was pulled back by the chain that was attached to him and Mo-mo, causing the rest of us to laugh even harder.

"Hey, Mo-mo hasn't had a chance to dare anyone yet!" Yusuke said as soon as we had all calmed down.

"Aw, that's okay." Mo-mo said with a smile. "I'm not very good at daring other people anyway."

"Well, if you say so." Kuwabara said.

After all the excitment, we continued to drink and party. Shizuru said that we were all too intoxicated to go home at this point, and were given permission to crash there at the house. Good thing we were still on Christmas break.

* * *

**For your convenience, a brief explanation about the voice in Fai's head:**

**Well, it was Hiei. Remember in episode 8 of the anime when Hiei was a bad guy and he used his jagan to take over the minds of some weak-minded humans? That's what he did to Fai, though of course under normal circumstances it wouldn't have worked (cause Fai is definately NOT weak-minded). Lucky for him, Fai is drunk, and on top of that he only needed her to say one word; therefore logic dictates that he would succeed :)**

**Hope you enjoyed the chapter!**


	56. Chapter 56

***MO-MO'S POV***

"Ugh..." I muttered as I gripped my aching head.

"What?" Hiei muttered rudely as he held the sleeping doll that we were taking care of. The two of us were sitting in the living room of my apartment, not really doing anything since we were both worn out from the party the night before.

"My head is killing me..." I whined. "Must have drunk too much."

"Hn. A hangover. How pathetic." Hiei said.

"Aww, shaddup!" I shouted at him, even though it made my head hurt more. "What would you know, anyway? You didn't even get drunk!"

"Heh. Any demon with self-control can choose whether or not the alcohol will affect him." Hiei smirked.

"Huh... Cool." I replied. "Wait, then Kurama..."

"No, he doesn't count because he's in a human body." Hiei explained.

"Ah." I muttered, my head starting to hurt some more. I lay down on the couch and closed my eyes, hoping the pain would decrease. I thought about taking some Advil or something, but it wasn't likely to do any good against something this bad. Good thing Hiei and I were alone. If anyone else was here I don't think I'd be able to stand the noise.

"Hey... There's something I want to talk about." Hiei said.

"Oh? What's that?" I asked, slightly opening my eyes to look at him.

"How you defeated Serafin. You really don't have any idea what you did back then?" Hiei asked.

"I _wish_ I knew what I did..." I muttered. "I mean, at the time I was a little freaked out, but thinking back on it, what I did was awesome! If I could learn how to do that on command, then I'd be an unbeatable fighter!"

"Maybe you should talk to the old hag about it... Or Spirit World, they might know something." Hiei suggested. Though for some reason he seemed tense... More so than usual.

"Hey, are you alright? You seem bothered by something... And for _you_ to suggest that I go to Spirit World for help is strange in and of itself."

"Hmph. You care-free idiot. If this is a new kind of power that you possess, then you're a danger to be around." Hiei said as he glared at the floor. "Clearly you have no control over it, and what if you accidentally used it on someone you didn't want to? You could probably kill one of us without intending to."

I flinched at that last remark. He was right, if whatever I did had enough power to kill Serafin, then it could easily kill Fai or one of the guys... Jeez, it's kind of scary to know that other people could be at risk from being around me. But if that's the case then I should go see Spirit World as soon as possible. They probably have some info on what I did.

**"You should go to Genkai, not Spirit World."** A female voice said.

"You're right, Hiei, let's go to Genkai's!" I replied to... the female voice?

"What was that?" Hiei asked as he stared at me with a puzzled expression.

"Huh? I thought you said... Wait, did you hear another voice?" I asked, as I looked around the room to check whether or not someone else was there.

"No..." He replied sceptically. "Are you sure that hangover hasn't made you delusional?"

"Well, I..." I started, but there really wasn't any explanation. I was _sure_ I heard someone tell me to go to Genkai's... Now, the only question is do I trust the little voice in my head? "If it's alright, I think I'm gonna take a nap for a while."

"Yes, that would probably be a good idea."

* * *

Much to my delight, there was no more voice the next day. Not even the day after that, or for the rest of the week for that matter. Of course, by that point I had pretty much forgotten all about it. Hiei and I had been busy taking care of that stupid doll, but thankfully today it was all over. Someone came by to collect it, and we were both more than happy to let it go. Another bonus was that today Fai would be finished her probation with Kurama and we could live together again. But before that, our group had made plans to go talk to Genkai about my new 'power'.

"MO-MO~~" Fai exclaimed as she delivered a super-glomp-of-death to me when we met at the train station. "I MISSED YOU SOOOO MUCH! YOU HAVE NO IDEA HOW LONELY I'VE BEEN!"

"Uhm... I was with you the whole time, Fai." Kurama said with a sweatdrop.

"Oh, shut up!" Fai muttered with a blush.

"Heh heh. I bet you and Kurama had fun bein' chained up like that for over a week, eh Fai." Yusuke said with a mischievous smirk. "By the way, how _did_ you two manage to sleep?" Yusuke and Kuwabara began to laugh together, but before they knew what happened, Fai had punched them both hard.

"Hn. Idiots." Hiei muttered with a roll of his eyes.

After that, we proceeded to get on the train headed in Genkai's direction. Fai continued to talk non-stop, though I didn't really process most of what she was saying. Hiei had gone to sleep, and Yusuke was being almost as chatty as Fai, though I comprehended him even less. Kuwabara seemed antsy about something, and kept looking behind me. After a while my curiosity got the better of me and I turned around to see what was so interesting. Much to my disappointment, there wasn't really anything there. The only thing noteworthy was that there was a woman who was dressed in what seemed to be an old-fashioned warrior's outfit. I dismissed it as cosplay.

After an hour or so on the train, we finally got off. Our group headed towards Genkai's temple, and began climbing the large amount of stairs. However, I felt a tug on my arm, and turned to see Kuwabara.

"What's up?" I asked.

"Did you happen to know some lady who dresses like an an ancient warrior?" He questioned quietly, so the others wouldn't hear.

"Um, no. Why?" I stared at him curiously.

"Cause there's a ghost like that following you." Kuwbara said.

"What?" I exclaimed as, out of impulse, I started looking around. Behind me, I saw the same cosplay lady from the train. "Holy shit! It's her again!"

"Wait, you can see the ghost?" Kuwabara demanded.

"She's a ghost?" I shouted out, totally shocked. I mean, I've never seen a ghost in my life. I didn't even believe in them before I met the YuYu gang.

"Hey, what are you two talking about?" Yusuke called down from further up the stairs. The others were quite a ways ahead, and stared down at us.

"Um... Well..."

* * *

"So let me get this straight..." Genkai said as we sat in a circle inside her temple. "First, Mo-mo somehow causes Serafin to decompose with a punch, and now she can see ghosts?"

"That's correct." Kurama replied.

"So, Grandma, do you know what's goin' on?" Yusuke demanded impatiently.

"Shut up, dimwit." Genkai glared at the detective. "I hate to inform you, but I don't know everything. Now, you only realized just now that you can see ghosts?"

"Yeah. As we were coming up the stairs. But I did see her on the train" I answered.

**"Actually, I spoke to you about a week ago, remember?" **The woman said, though only Kuwabara and I could hear her. At the moment she was literally hovering over my head. It was kind of annoying.

"I'd like to say it's because as your powers are developing, so are your senses..." Genkai speculated. "But what you did to Serafin wasn't normal. I can't think of a single technique that would do that."

"What _can_ you think of?" Fai asked.

"A legendary ability talked about by psychics and martial artists for centuries." Genkai said as she closed her eyes and fell into thought. "There's been many debates about a special ability that grants the user the power to control who dies and how. According to the rumours, whoever possesses this ability can also see and manipulate ghosts."

**"Wow... The hag is more knowledgeable than she lets on."** The ghost said, though Kuwabara and I ignored her.

"Woah... That sounds intense." Yusuke muttered.

"But how can we be certain it's this specific power? You said it's legendary, so does that mean there's no solid proof that it actually exists?" Kurama asked.

"That's what all the debate is about." Genkai explained. "No one has seen a legitimate user of this ability for hundreds of years. People today would go so far as to say that it never existed in the first place, and that any previous accounts of it were simply scams."

"Then why did you bother suggesting it?" Hiei asked harshly.

"Because it's the only thing that fits what's happening to Mo-mo. And on top of that, you kids seem to have a knack for accomplishing impossible tasks." Genkai said with a smirk. "But unfortunately, I know next to nothing about it, other than what I've already told you. You should talk to Koenma, and ask him what he knows about a special ability to control death."

"Alright, then let's get going!" I exclaimed. "Thanks for the help, Genkai." I smiled at the old lady as our group headed off.

* * *

We headed back to Sarayashiki, where the guys went to Yusuke's place and Fai and I went to our apartment to let Fai unpack the stuff she had taken with her to Kurama's. We would meet them at Yusuke's house when we were finished, and then head out to Spirit World to hopefully get some answers.

"Oh my God, it feels _great_ to be in my own home again!" Fai exclaimed as she ran into her room and plopped down on her bed.

Suddenly, I heard my stomach let out a loud growl. "I'm gonna go make some food."

**"Ahhh, the feeling of hunger. Must be nice to be alive."** My current ghost stalker said. Much to my annoyance, she had followed us on the train, to our house, and still hasn't given me a moment alone.

"Shut up!" I hissed at her. "Who are you, and what do you want, anyway?"

**"Me? My name is Azar."** The woman replied. **"I was the controller of death."**

"What's that supposed to mean?" I demanded.

Suddenly, Azar's expression changed to annoyed. **"Dumbass. Didn't you listen to a word the old hag said? The controller of death is a person with the ability to kill anyone, with any means. As well, that person can see and control ghosts. Well, that person was me."**

"But I thought all that was just speculation..." I muttered. "So wait, are you trying to say that when you were alive you had the same powers that I've got?"

**"Now you're starting to catch on."** Azar said with a snap of her fingers.

"Hey Mo-mo, who are you talking to?" Fai asked curiously as she peeked out of her room. "There's no one else here..."

"Oh, it's just an annoying ghost." I replied.

**"Annoying ghost...? I'm your superior, you stupid brat! I'm gonna help you out by telling you all about your power, so don't talk about me like that again!"** Azar yelled, though Fai didn't hear anything.

"Would you just shut up for a minute?" I growled at Azar through my teeth. Then I turned to Fai, "Can you just leave me alone for a minute to deal with this."

"Okaaaaay." Fai muttered as she slowly drifted back into her room.

"Alright, now we can talk." I said to Azar. "So, uh, what exactly do you have to tell me?"

**"Not much at the moment."** Azar sighed. **"When training this kind of power, the only way you can do it is in the heat of battle. That's also where you can fully understand what you're capable of, so we'll have to wait for your next fight... However, there's something I want to clarify first."**

"What's that?" I asked curiously.

**"You work with the Spirit Detective, right? For Spirit World, that is."**

"Yeah." I answered. "Why do you ask?"

Azar hesitated for a moment as she stared at me intensely. **"Don't tell them about your power."**

"Huh?" I muttered. That was a strange thing to say. "But can't they help-"

**"No! Believe me, they'll do anything but help you through it. You should stay away from those bastards."** Azar shouted at me.

"What's your problem? Spirit World's trustworthy, they wouldn't-"

"Hey, Mo-mo! I'm ready to go whenever you are." Fai said with a smile. "Unless you still wanna talk to the ghost."

"No way, I'm done talking with her!" I stated loudly as I walked to the door. "Let's get going."

**"You're making a mistake..."** Azar muttered quietly as Fai and I left the apartment.

During our walk to Yusuke's apartment, Fai kept asking what I was discussing with Azar. I explained to her what had happened, and she said I should ignore the crazy ghost because if I stayed away from Spirit World, then I would have to stay away from her, and she wouldn't like that. Of course, that wasn't exactly what I wanted to hear. My intuition told me that there was some truth behind Azar's words, but I couldn't really figure out why. But the guys had already gone to the trouble of arranging a meeting with Koenma. It would be rude to just cancel out of nowhere because of some ghost's paranoia.

"Hey, you guys finally showed up!" Yusuke exclaimed as we walked into his apartment. "What kept ya?"

"Ghost troubles." Fai smiled.

"In any case, we spoke to Koenma." Kurama explained. "And it seems as though he would like to speak with us as well."

"Oh?" Fai and I said in unison.

"He has a new mission for us." Kurama stated.


	57. Chapter 57

Koenma slapped my hand away as I went to grab a paper off his desk. I couldn't tell for sure, but it looked like the file had Mo-mo's name on it. I sent a glare to Koenma. Apparently the feelings over the death of George and attempt on Koenma's life were still mutual. Of course I'd hate somebody who threw me in jail; of course he'd hate somebody who killed his friend. I smiled and stepped back, grabbing onto Kurama's sleeve slightly. 'Why does he have the file out…? We made it clear that we had no idea what this is.' I couldn't help but wonder.

"You'll be going into the Makai for your mission." A chorus of 'What?' came from not only our group, but Botan as well. 'She didn't know? That's odd.' I thought. Kurama seemed to acknowledge this as well, and he frowned slightly. Koenma continued, ignoring them. "There are three villages in the Makai that have been causing problems over a dispute. Normally we wouldn't get involved, but apparently, a member of SDF was killed while being sent to investigate something in the area."

"So now you're sending us in?" Kuwabara growled, clearly not wanting to get involved in anything having to do with the SDF.

"Yes. It may be smart to split up into groups." Koenma stated, "Send two to each village and see if you can deal with things without destroying the places."

"Lord Koenma, you can't!" Botan gasped out. Once again I tugged slightly on Kurama's sleeve; he nodded, getting the point. Clearly things were worse than Koenma was letting on.

"Botan, please send them on their way, I have work to do." I looked at the desk one last time and noticed the file was gone. I glared at Koenma, but turned around and followed the others out.

* * *

"Is this what you were looking for?" Kurama said with a smile.

"You got it!" I gasped happily as I glomped Kurama. I grabbed the file out of his hands and sat down. The others, who had walked on ahead, had turned back curiously, probably wanting to know what the hold-up was.

"What's that?" Yusuke asked, frowning at the folder.

"I saw it on Koenma's desk. It has Mo-mo's name on the front of it, I think…" I frowned as I twisted the folder around, "It's hard to read."

"Do you think we'll be able to open it?" Kuwabara murmured in slight awe at the normal-looking folder.

"Yeah, Koenma may have put some kind of lock on it or something." Yusuke responded. I shrugged, as they crowded around me.

"Okay, I'm going to open it." I murmured, as I made eye contact with Mo-mo, who nodded, a serious look in her eyes.

Slowly I opened the folder, and it almost seemed as if it were glowing a golden light as the cover was pulled away from the page.

After a LONG moment of silence an irk-mark appeared on my forehead, and a chorused yell of annoyance rang out from our group.

"I guess there is a lock on it after all." Kurama sweatdropped.

"THIS IS ILLEGIBAL!" I growled out, "Give me one more shot at that brats head…" I growled.

"I can't read any of this!" Kuwabara groaned.

"And I thought **my** writing was bad." Yusuke laughed out, as I threw the file against the wall.

"Dammit, there's something going on here though. Just the fact that he had the folder out can prove it." I muttered, although I was pretty sure the others hadn't heard me. They had all walked up ahead.

"Fai, hurry up!" Mo-mo yelled over her shoulder, "You of all people shouldn't be wandering around here alone."

"Don't play off my paranoia." I muttered, as I jogged to catch up.

* * *

"So the groups are obvious!" I smiled, trying to get over my bad feeling.

"Yup!" Yusuke grinned.

"Yusuke and Kuwabara, Mo-mo and I, and Hiei and Kurama!" I said in union with Yusuke, who stated as if it was the most obvious thing in the world:

"Kuwabara and me, Mo-mo and Hiei, and Kurama and Fai!"

Before I even had time to object, which they all seemed to see coming, they were running off towards their designated posts.

"But, but, but… NOOO!" I cried, "I wanna see Mo-mo's new powers!"

"Come on, Fai, it looks like it's going to rain." Kurama sweatdropped as I looked up at the clouds.

"But I like the rain…" I sighed, and complied anyways.

* * *

"Why do I get the feeling that they don't want us here?" I muttered, keeping my eyes level as glares stared out from every house we walked past.

"Get out of our village you stupid demon!" A young child yelled as he threw a rock towards us, which Kurama easily swatted away.

"I'm afraid I get the feeling as well." Kurama frowned.

"You two! Stop right there!" I blinked and turned around.

"It's an old guy." I pointed.

"I'M NOT OLD!" He yelled in return, an irk-mark appearing on his head, "You are under arrest!"

"Because we're younger than you?" I blinked, totally confused as to the situation.

"Yes, wait NO!" He shook his head as he stomped up to us, "You're under arrest because you are the demon goddess of the Tanaka village!"

"He's the what?" I laughed as I pointed at Kurama, "They think you're a goddess." I stated.

"NOT HIM!" The old guy yelled getting up into my face, "YOU!"

"You're in my personal bubble." I stated, all fun out of my voice, "I suggest you remove yourself." Suddenly the rain began to pour down. The man blinked and stepped back. "Thank you."

"Fai…" Kurama muttered, looking slightly worried.

"What happens if we refuse to go with you calmly?" I asked, once again smiling.

"Then the village will use force." The old man growled, and I could hear the twang of metal clicking against metal. Lots of weapons were nearby.

"Hmm, jail means cover and food." I looked up into the rain, "But I like the rain." I sighed.

"We'll go with you." Kurama stated, looking slightly angry.

"We don't need you, boy; we have no reason to take you in."

"I'll make your life hell if you don't let him come along, sir. You see, I can get moody. Very moody. Bad things will happen if there isn't somebody who you can use to calm me down." I glared at the man through my bangs. The only way I was going anywhere was with Kurama. "I'll cooperate if we're going to be together."

The man once again stepped back, but growled and smacked cuffs around Kurama's hands.

"You make one foul move and we'll kill the kid." He growled, as he gestured for me to follow.

'They're not cuffing me… they must honestly think I'm a god or something.' I thought with surprise.

* * *

'And in the end they separated us. They better not do anything to Kurama.' I thought, as I glared at the young guard who stood at the door to my room. It was more like a house arrest than jail; I had a nice room with actual furniture and windows and such, I just wasn't allowed to leave. Of course there were barriers over all the ways out; the guard was just back up. I had been forced to change into what was obviously a very expensive robe, but looking at the legend they had painted along the wall I could see why. It was true that I had a shocking resemblance to the goddess that once destroyed these people's civilization.

"Hmm, I wonder." I murmured aloud, getting the young guard's attention, "Do these people arrest every girl with short blonde hair and blue eyes that comes into this town? That would probably make for a lot of goddesses." The guard growled slightly, it was obvious I was making fun of him and his village, but he didn't move. "What's wrong, afraid you'll be cursed if you get close to me?" I smiled, deciding he'd be a fun toy to play with, "Do you think this simple little barrier can hold me back?" I stood up, and started walking towards the door, and the guard stepped back.

A shout of "Dinner!" came from down the hall. I frowned, as a tray was slid towards me, as if I was going to bite if he passed it to me. I took one sniff and frowned. I simply shoved the food back.

"As if I would eat something given to me by you people." I growled, "I want to see Kurama."

The only response was the food was slid towards me again. I picked up the tray, and looked over the food curiously, then threw it at the guard, nailing him in the head with the metal pan.

"Did you really think that simply sliding it back would make me eat it? Fool." I growled, as I went and lay down on the bed in the room. "Don't expect any form of cooperation until I am sure my friend is safe."

This pattern repeated for a few days before the man who arrested me in the first place, who I found to be the village chief, appeared.

"You've been uncooperative." He growled, "We had a deal."

"I never go back on my word; my deal was that my friend and I stay together, and then I'd cooperate. I'll even be good so long as you let me see him. I don't trust you anymore than you trust me. Simply requesting I be a good girl won't work unless I'm getting rewarded in the end." I stated, turning my head to the side in a stubborn gesture.

"Fine! You eat your dinner, and then we will bring you to see your friend." He growled.

"How am I to know you're telling the truth? What if you just leave as soon as I've eaten?" I looked him directly in the eye. "I'll eat when I'm with my friend; that way I can know for sure that he's well, and that I'll be able to see him. Is that okay?"

The old man grumbled once more but made the order for some people to be brought to escort me to the prison.

* * *

Any chance of escape was shot. The four people who had been hired to escort me around all wore seals that made the same constricting affect as the ones on my room; I couldn't use my powers and I couldn't get past them.

Getting to the prison was not a very fun trip. It was on the other side of the village and stones and debris were thrown at me the entire way. Clearly I still wasn't very well liked. It seemed where nothing could leave the barrier, anything to enter it; Blood ran over my eye from a well aimed rock, around the size of a baseball, which had hit its target. I simply smiled at the young girl who threw it, and she ran off practically in fear.

"I find it funny how you're all so scared of me, and you all hate me… yet you don't even know me." I chuckled slightly, wiping some blood out of my eye, "So should I hate everybody that looks like you now, even if they aren't you?" After that the crowd dispersed. That clearly wasn't the reaction they were hoping for.

We finally made it to the prison, and I was shocked to see that they had Kurama under stricter lock and key than me. His cell, although cage would be a better word, was actually inside three other cells.

"What did you do?" I couldn't help but giggle at the situation. None of this made sense.

"Absolutely nothing, actually. These people rely off word of mouth a lot, it seems. They believe I'm the murderous infamous thief that I once was."

"I see." I sighed, "We really didn't pick the best village, did we?" I laughed slightly, wiping away the blood once again that had slid into my eye.

"No, it appears not. Fai, what happened?" He asked, worry clear on his face.

"Just a well aimed rock, it's no big deal." I shrugged, "Head wounds always look worse than they are. It's just a bit of a headache." I smiled, hoping to relieve some of the worry. Kurama just frowned.

"Now eat! Keep your deal you bloody demon god!" One of the guards shoved the food at me.

"I will, for God's sake!" I sent the man a glare that would even please Hiei, "I'm sorry I'm not some barbarian that lunges at every article of edible substance put in front of me!"

The man continued to grumble, but I plopped down into the chair that had been made available for me.

"This isn't fair." I muttered, looking at Kurama's barren cell, "I was the one who was arrested, and I'm being housed like a bloody princess. This is so backwards it hurts." A frown spread across my face as I mixed around the rice and fish. "It doesn't make sense."

Kurama sighed; this was certainly not the best way for things to turn out.

"I just want to know why they're keeping us here. I could understand them kicking us out, but there really seems to be no reason to keep us here. It should be the last place they want us." Kurama said, he seemed just as lost as I was. I picked up some of the food and put it into my mouth. The first thing I noticed was the bitter taste.

'Rice and fish shouldn't be bitter.' That was all I could think before the world began to tip sideways. I could hear Kurama yelling out my name, but it sounded a million miles away. I hit the ground, and although I could still see, I found myself unable to move.

"Come on! Get her out of here!" one of the guards growled as I was hauled up onto somebody's shoulder. That was when the world suddenly switched from colour to solid black, and I blanked out.


	58. Chapter 58

***MO-MO'S POV***

"You were right, Hiei... Looks like these people aren't gonna just sit down and talk to us." I muttered, disappointed by our rotten luck.

"Hn. Most people in Makai are somewhat less than cooperative." Hiei replied.

As soon as we had arrived in the village and asked to speak with them, the villagers took one look at Hiei and I and started throwing rocks at us. I used my aura to create a shield, though that provoked the villagers to start throwing larger, more dangerous objects. No matter what we said to them, the villagers kept cursing and finding more things to throw at us.

"This is getting us nowhere!" Hiei growled. "Maybe once we kill a few of them, they'll feel like talking." He muttered with a smirk.

"Not that I'm trying to ruin your fun, but weren't we instructed _not_ to use violence?" I reminded him, even though my patience was beginning to run thin as well.

"Then what do _you_ suggest we do?" Hiei glared at me impatiently.

"I dunno! I hate dealing with people..." I muttered more to myself than to Hiei.

**"They should really get out of here..."**

"Huh?" I exclaimed as I heard an unfamiliar voice right beside me. I turned to see a young man and a few woman as well. They were standing inside my shield, which shouldn't have been possible. Although, Hiei didn't seem to notice them... "Uhm, you guys are ghosts right?" I asked, just to be sure.

**"You can see us?"** They exclaimed. **"Listen, you should leave this village now, before things become dangerous!"**

"Look, I'm sure we'll be fine." I reassured them.

"Who are you talking to?" Hiei demanded impatiently.

"Er... Ghosts." I muttered awkwardly. "They say we should leave."

**"And we mean it!"**

"Sounds good to me. We're not getting anywhere like this." Hiei said as a chair smashed into my shield.

"Alright." I said with a sigh of relief. It was exhausting holding up a shield for so long. And besides, we could probably go get Kurama and have him deal with these people since he's much better at this kind of stuff than Hiei or I.

Of course, my delight was only temporary. Once we had gotten out of range of the flying objects, I let my shield down and sure enough the ground began to shake. Not a moment later, a giant snake demon emerged from the ground. It looked down at us as if we were its dinner, and I had a feeling that wasn't too far from the truth.

"So, uh, I guess this is the danger those ghosts were talking about..." I muttered as Hiei stared at the giant creature with an irritated glare.

"Whatever. Let's just get this over with." Hiei sighed as he drew his sword. "Distract it while I go in for the kill."

"Sure thing." I smirked. Hiei disappeared, and I began to send numerous blasts of aura at the snake demon. It was surprisingly fast, and managed to dodge all my blasts. As expected, it took the bait and charged in my direction. I then focused my aura into a point several feet ahead of me, and waited for the right timing. I raised my arm; sending the collected aura upwards, hitting the snake demon right under it's chin. The demon was sent into the air by the impact, and I saw Hiei appear beside it, ready to take of it's head. Hiei swung his sword at the snake demon's neck, however it didn't cut through... It just bounced off. Suddenly, the demon's tail came forward and hit Hiei hard, sending him crashing into the ground.

"Hiei, are you alright?" I exclaimed as I went to him. Luckily, he didn't seem hurt too much. "What the hell happened?"

"Damn, the scales on that thing are too hard to cut with a weapon." Hiei muttered. "I doubt your aura will have much of an effect either."

"So what are we supposed to do?" I demanded. However, before my question could be answered the snake demon quickly gathered aura into it's mouth and fired it at us. Hiei and I dodged with ease, and then the demon began to charge at us quickly.

"Go for its eyes before it has a chance to do anything else!" Hiei commanded.

"Oh yeah, I'd forgotten about that!" I muttered, more to myself. "And I've got a move I've been meaning to test out." I smirked, as I held my arms in an archer's position. Red aura appeared in my hands that looked like a bow and arrow. "Aim... FIRE!"

As I shot my 'arrow', Hiei threw his sword at the demon in perfect sync. They hit the snake demon's eyes, causing it to cry out in pain as it was blinded. While Hiei jumped into the air, I created small platforms with my aura so that I could get high into the air by jumping onto them. Once we were both in the right position, Hiei launched an attack of fire at the same time that I sent a blast of aura straight down the snake's throat. Our attacks exploded, beheading the demon from within.

"Man, that was easy." I said with a confident smirk.

"A little too easy..." Hiei muttered as he approached the dead demon and looked it over. Suddenly he turned around with a panicked expression on his face and screamed, "HOLD YOUR BREATH NOW!"

Before I even had time to comprehend what he told me to do, the demon's body dissolved into a smoke screen that spread all around the two of us. Only then did I hold my breath, even though I knew it was too late. I lasted a few minutes before I started to feel lightheaded, and then I quickly fell into unconsciousness.

**Wow... I'm a little ashamed of how short this is, but unfortunately it can't be helped XD And once again I'm sorry for the long wait. I've been especially busy since I'm now taking an instructor course to teach people how to swim. It's time consuming -_- **

**Anyway, enjoy TNH :D **


	59. Chapter 59

***AIYOKU FAIYUKI'S POV***

"Where's Kurama…" I mumbled as I tried to sit up.

I failed, I should add.

I frowned groggily at the thick straps which held me to the bed.

"Good evening," This younger man clearly held resemblance to the chief, but his attitude towards me seemed to be the same, "wretch."

Instantly switching into my defensive mode I smiled broadly. "I don't understand how anybody can be as incredibly stupid as you." I shifted my head, to look away in mock disgust, but frowned, annoyed, as hair slipped into my eyes. "I mean honestly, how stupid can you get?"

_Even my wrists are strapped down… this may be difficult. More so than it needs to be._

"What are you talking about?" He growled, taking a handful of my hair and pulling painfully. I continued to smile as my head twisted to the side painfully.

"Well only a total idiot would keep what they want **out** of their village in their village forcibly!" I laughed, despite the pain.

Suddenly the door slid open.

"Father!" The kid yelled, untangling his hand from my hair and bowing in a respective manner.

"You're going to be late for the ceremony." Was all the village chief said to his son, as he sent me a glare before continuing, "I can tell you, wretch, that your friend will die today."

"What?" I yelled out, before violently throwing myself at my restraints. "DAMMIT! What did we do! Why the hell is Kurama going to die?"

"Don't worry; you will follow… once the full moon comes around. We've decided that we won't waste food on a thief any longer." The chief crossed his arms and glared challengingly towards me.

"**Dammit I'll kill you.**" The sheer rage that was being bottled up inside me forced energy to leak out, even with the protective seals, "**I'll get out of here and destroy your very being!**" I continued to struggle as the two left the room.

I eventually broke out from the bindings on my hands, but the barriers proved to be strong enough to hold me back, despite my constant efforts.

"Hello," A familiar voice rang out, "Kitten."

"KIRANE!" I gasped out, not sure if I should be happy that he survived from the attack on Serafin, or angry that he's bothering me again.

"I missed you, my precious Kitten, although I'm confused as to how you went from being captured in spirit world, to being captured in the Makai." Kirane smiled slightly, "After all of our efforts too." He ripped the spell tag off the wall across from the room, ruining the circle and letting me out.

"Never expect to hear this from me again Kirane, but…" I smiled in extreme relief as I glomped him, "KIRANETHANKYOUSOMUCHILOVEYOU!"

His face went as red as mine when I'm around Kurama, and I let go and looked down the hallway, "I don't know what to say." He smiled mischievously before frowning, "Other than now is not the time." He sighed, and tapped his foot, "Your fox doesn't have much time, Kitten. We need to hurry."

"Wait, since when do _you_ care what happens to Kurama?" I asked curiously.

"I simply look forward to the look on his face when he realizes that **I** saved you, and not him." kirane smirked proudly. "That, and if I let him die, you would be angry with me."

"That works." I said with a shrug of my shoulders.

He grabbed my arm and led me at a steady pace towards the exit. "Thankfully, all the guards and citizens are at the hanging, so it should be easy enough getting there, but we have about three minutes before the bell chimes, which means-"

"Don't even say it; just show me where we have to be." I growled at the heavy robes, realising there was no way I could fight in them. "Kirane, detour so I survive this long enough to save Kurama; I can't fight in these, we'll need to borrow some clothes from one of these houses."

Sighing with comfort at the new clothes I turned to Kirane, "Another once in a life time, Kirane. You're faster than me, can you carry me there? I don't care as long as you run as fast as vampire-ly possible." He nodded, surprisingly serious about the whole thing. As the city blurred past us I had to remind myself to thank him for this, if all went well.

"So, what's your plan?" Kirane asked, in a slightly worried tone as we neared the tall walls that blocked out the view of the stadium.

"Get in, get Kurama, and get out of this damn village." I growled, glaring as Kirane sprinted around the building in search for an entrance.

"It would be so much more convenient if we could just teleport in, but I don't know any spells like that." Kirane growled.

Suddenly, I had a flash of insight. "Kirane, stop!" He came to an abrupt halt. "I can teleport in, with a technique I learned from Serafin. But I'm only strong enough to teleport one person. Can you try to get in on your own? I may need back up." He nodded, and disappeared.

'He's faster than I realised.' I thought to myself as I tried to remember exactly how to use the teleportation technique.

It didn't take long, only a few seconds, although I wound up landing in the wrong spot. I was roughly shoved to the floor, having landed on the chief's son's lap. I jumped away, before they could realise who I was and grab me.

I landed roughly in the sandy stadium, and I could hear the call for the guards from the chief behind me.

"GUARDS! DAMMIT, JUST TAKE DOWN THE TRAP DOOR!" the Chief's Son wound up yelling. And the guards obeyed.

Kurama looked at me, and gave me that awkward smile of his before the ground disappeared out from under him.

A familiar feeling of rage and bloodlust overcame me as everybody within fifty feet of me exploded, shrivelled like a dehydrated fruit, or froze to a solid demon Popsicle.

I couldn't even say anything this time as I disappeared then reappeared in front of the poor man who was just following orders, and kicked his head clean off. I once again disappeared, reappearing in front of the chief and his son.

"**You know, I've always been more partial to beheading; I think it's more effective. So how about this, instead of hanging you… OFF WITH YOUR HEAD!**" I screamed as his head exploded like somebody had left a cherry bomb in it. "**YOU TOO!**" I screamed at the chief himself, who was struggling to get away. He just flat out exploded.

I let out a scream, no words, just a scream that sounded as if I had been stabbed in the most painful place possible. The walls began to break away as my aura ran rampant around the stadium, not leaving a single citizen within the entire boundaries of the city alive. I was oddly aware of arms wrapping themselves around my waist, a familiar voice trying to calm me with whispers in my ear. I was aware that I was hurting this person, and he too eventually was sent flying back. Somewhere in the subconscious of my mind, I believe that I wished for this person to be okay, but I couldn't tell.

Ironically, the tower I was in was the last to collapse. That was what had broken me out of my murderous trance. I pulled myself out from under the rubble and looked around. I couldn't help but compare the once busy city to a picture from a World War Two book that my mother had once owned. Buildings were destroyed, some with nothing left. There were no bodies, or people, but you could see blood from where they had been moments before. Nobody was there except me, and the only body that remained undamaged was Kurama's.

The wooden beams that had held the rope had shattered, leaving splintered wood all around on the ground. I barely felt the pain as I wobbled, barefoot, towards Kurama.

"Ku…rama?" I asked in a whimper as tears began to drip from my eyes, "Kurama?" I asked again.

I got no reply.

I dragged my friend's body to a place away from the wood and stones, where it couldn't suffer further damage.

I bit down on my lip as I stared down at his face, the eerie silence surrounding both of us. I brought my fist up and brought it down hard on his chest as I yelled out,

"DAMMIT!" I screamed out, "DAMMIT DON'T TELL SOMEBODY THAT YOU'LL BE THERE FOREVER AND DIE!" I continued to bring my fists down on his chest in a childish tantrum, until I was pulled away.

"Faiyuki, you need to calm down." Kirane murmured, as he held me back, "Breathe, Kitten, breathe." He continued to hold me back as I struggled to get back at Kurama.

"He promised dammit! He **promised**! Isn't that was this damn ring means? That he'd be mine forever?" I screamed as I pulled the ring off my finger and threw it at Kurama's still body, "**DAMMIT!**"

I finally collapsed out of Kirane's arms, although I once again dragged myself to Kurama. I collapsed on his chest and just bawled. I don't even know how long, I bawled until I couldn't even cry anymore.

"Why?" I asked.

"Why?" Kirane replied, more wondering what I meant that agreeing to the question.

"Why did he have to die? He wasn't even supposed to be here." I pulled my hands into fists, clenching Kurama's shirt without looking up at Kirane, "So why did this have to happen?" I continued to shake, although the sobs had stopped. I never let Kirane answer, although I doubt he could. "You know, he was always the one to kiss me. And that was only two or three times. I kissed him once though, on the cheek for a dare." I let out a tortured sound, that was probably a chuckle originally, "He promised himself to me and I wouldn't even kiss him. But… now is too late, isn't it?" I looked up at Kirane. I was a mess, my eyes were red and swollen, and I could tell that my nose was running, although I couldn't bother to wipe it; but he smiled. Kirane just smiled and shook his head.

"No, I don't think it's too late." Kirane said as he put his hand on my shoulder comfortingly. I managed to break out into tears again as I turned around and hugged Kirane, mumbling a 'thank you' of some sort into his chest as I turned around and smiled a pained smile at Kurama.

"You big idiot, just when I was thinking maybe we could work." I rubbed my face dry with the sleeve of the shirt I had stolen, although tears soon retraced their marks on my cheeks. "But I guess in the end I still wasn't good enough; I couldn't even keep you alive, even though I was right there." I sniffed, "It looks like the last kiss is mine, neh?" I smiled again, although it didn't hold long, and pressed my lips onto Kurama's.

After a few second I pulled away, and allowed Kirane to help me through the rubble of the stadium.

"You know, I wasn't expecting you to give the ring back, not after you thanked me for it." I froze, rooting Kirane to the spot, "Is this… a noose around my neck?"

"Ku…rama?" I turned around slowly and my eyes met the familiar, awkward green ones of my friend. He stood up slowly, pulling the rope away from his neck and brushing the dust off him from the ground.

"Yes, Fai-san?" He smiled that same awkward smile, and tears hit me again almost as hard as before.

I pulled away from Kirane and sprinted towards Kurama, half tripping on the way, before crashing into him, tackling him to the ground.

"YOU BIG, STUPID IDIOT!" I screamed while I pounded his chest with both fists, "YOU BIG, STUPID, ADORABLE, HORRIBLE, LOVABLE IDIOT!" I stopped hitting him long enough to wipe the tears out of my eyes before the world spun around, and he was standing, holding his hand out to help me up.

I grabbed his hand and after he had pulled me up I wrapped my arms tightly around his waist. "Don't you ever die on me again." I mumbled into his shirt. "Never, it's now against the rules."

Kurama just chucked, and held me closer to him.

"I'm going to leave you be this time, fox. But if you ever make her cry again, I'll destroy you." Kirane growled, before disappearing without a trace.

"Fai?" Kurama murmured into my hair.

"Hmm?" I replied, exhausted from all of the emotional trauma I had felt within the last day.

"I would like to do this properly this time, okay?" I could feel him smile into my hair, "So please don't interrupt me this time." I nodded my head, acknowledging that I would listen,

"I won't, unless you say something stupid." He just chuckled softly as he shook his head.

"Fai, I've been doing a lot of thinking lately; you always try to deal with your problems alone, and shut out anyone who wants to help. It's not an uncommon thing for people to do, and I know many people like that. But for some reason I get so frustrated when _you_ do it." I restrained my objection at the all too familiar speech, "At first I couldn't understand why I was bothered so much by your actions... But after thinking about it, the only possible reason could be that I cared about you more than anyone else." Kurama sighed, "Fai, I want to be there at your side... I want to help you through whatever's causing you so much pain." I looked up at him, and smiled. He seemed relieved, as he finished off what he couldn't properly say before, "I love you, Fai. Please... Let me be there for you."

"Only on the one condition." I smiled, "You can't tell Mo-mo that I admitted that I love you."

"You wha-" This time it wasn't words that cut Kurama off, but the fact that I kissed him.

"You can't tell her about that, either." I smiled, as I let him slide the ring back to its rightful spot on my finger. Kurama chuckled, and grabbed my hand. I suddenly got very dizzy.

"Fai, are you okay?" Kurama asked with a worried expression, using his empty hand to feel for fever, "You've got a slight fever but… You look pale… paler than usual."

"Just kinda… dizzy…" I mumbled, as I sat down, "I see dancing foxes…" I mumbled chasing one of the small red foxes with my finger as it passed my face before everything went black.


	60. Chapter 60

***MO-MO'S POV***

"Ungh..." I groaned as I slowly became conscious. My head was killing me, as usual, which made it hard to think. I groggily looked around, though all my aching head could comprehend was stone. "What the hell happened?" I muttered to no one in particular.

**"Finally awake, huh."**

"SHIT!" I exclaimed as I jumped at the unexpected voice coming from beside me. "Azar... Don't do that, please!"

**"It's your own damn fault for getting caught in the first place."** The spirit mocked as she crossed her legs and began to hover.

"Whatever..." I muttered in slight embarrassment. "Where have _you_ been all this time, anyway?"

**"Observing something interesting."** Azar replied with a smirk.

"Is that so?" I said curiously.

"HEY, WITCH! I DON'T WHO YOU'RE TALKING TO, BUT STOP IT! YOU'RE ANNOYING ME!" A guard shouted, finally causing me to clue into the fact that I was in a cell.

"Sheesh, you don't have to yell..." I pouted, even though to him it probably seemed as though I was absolutely insane.

**"So as I was saying, I saw something interesting."** Azar continued, as if the guard didn't even exist. I nodded at her in acknowledgement. **"It was just a hunch, but mine are usually right, so I followed your friend Faiyuki rather than tag along with you and the midget. To make a long story short, she's the controller of life. Your opposite."**

"Wait... WHAT?" I exclaimed.

Azar sighed. **"Remember how I explained that the controller of death is a legendary person who has the ability to kill people instantly and can control the spirits of the dead?"** I nodded. **"Well, along with that person is the controller of life. She can bring people back from the dead, and ultimately has extraordinary healing abilities."**

"I see..." I muttered quietly as I fell into thought. "But how do you know for sure that Fai has those powers?"

**"Well... There's no nice to way to say this, so I'll be blunt; Kurama was killed."** My mouth dropped, but I resisted the urge to scream out. **"There's nothing to worry about, he's alive. Your friend brought him back to life..."** Azar's expression then twisted into something that looked like an extremely amused child. **"With a kiss."**

With that, Azar and I broke out into laughter. The guard turned around and gave me a menacing glare, so unfortunately I had to shut up.

As soon as Azar was finished laughing, she continued talking, **"The controller of life isn't quite as well-known among martial artists, since it's an ability that can only be used to help other people. That aside, both the controller of life and death always exist at the same time, and usually they know each other." **

"So... When you were alive you knew who the controller of life was?"

Azar paused for a moment, as a look of pain crossed her face. **"Yeah... My little sister."**

"Oh..." Was all I could mutter before the guard at my cell slammed his hand against the bars.

"HEY! I TOLD YOU TO STOP TALKING TO YOURSELF!" The guard shouted again.

Suddenly I heard footsteps, and a large group of demons dressed in high class clothing approached my cell. They seemed to be centred around one man, who I assumed was their leader. All of them stared at me with disgust.

"So, this is the girl?" The leader stated more than asked.

"Yes, sir." The guard of my cell replied sternly.

"You guys had better tell me why I'm locked up here!" I shouted at them. "And on top of that, what have you done with Hiei?"

"You were the only one we captured." The leader said. "Fortunately for him, your friend managed to escape and we have no interest in pursuing him."

I smirked confidently. Letting Hiei go was a big mistake on their part. He'd return to pay them back eventually, though it's not like I was going to wait. I could easily break out on my own.

"Defeating our guard serpent was impressive," the leader continued. "However, you were probably better off letting him devour you."

"Quit screwing around and tell me what you want." I glared harshly.

"We want you dead." The leader replied coldly. "You will pay for your crimes with your life, goddess of death."

"What crimes?" I demanded.

"Bring her." The leader commanded.

The men surrounding him opened my cell and grabbed me roughly. They placed shackles on my wrists that were covered with power-restricting seals. I was then shoved forward as we followed their leader. We climbed down many narrow circular stairways until we finally came across a long hallway that was lit by candles. The walls were covered in large murals, and the leader brought us to one of them.

"Behold, your crimes." The leader said as he stared at the wall.

It depicted a young woman with long brownish-red hair and blue eyes. She was extending her hands towards a bunch of demons that were dead, as if she had killed him. Come to think of it, the woman in the mural looked an awful lot like Azar... Thinking about it some more, it clicked that Azar kind of looked like me, but with longer hair.

"There is no doubt that you are this woman who slaughtered our people centuries ago. You bear her resemblance." The leader explained.

"You're accusing me because I look like some girl in a century-old painting? That's bullshit, it's just a coincidence!" I shouted. Although knowing my luck, there was probably no coincidence.

"Have you forgotten that you are in Makai, human girl?" The leader stated. "Even though the path between this world and your world is open, it's rare for many humans to come here. That fact that you have come to our village, on top of the fact that you look almost exactly like the woman in this painting proves that you are her reincarnation. You are the new goddess of death."

"Sorry, but I don't believe in reincarnation." I said firmly.

"That is irrelevant. Very shortly you will no longer be living."

**"This is stupid."** Azar muttered. **"Come on, you're not gonna let him get away with this, are you?"**

"Take the girl back to her cell while we prepare for the execution." The leader commanded.

**"You have the power to end him, so why not do it?" **As I listened to Azar, I realized that I really did want him to die. He pissed me off beyond all reason; the way he just assumed that I was a thing of evil, and how he so easily ordered my death. Guys like him didn't deserve to live.

As I stared at the leader, wishing hard for his death, he suddenly became surrounded by a black energy that no one else seemed to notice. In a few seconds his body went limp and he fell to the floor, dead.

As the demon guards rushed to his side, I saw the leader's spirit separate from his body. He stared at me with slight surprise and great anger as he murmured, "I knew you were her... I knew it! You came to destroy our clan, you witch!" And with that, he disappeared.

**"Well, he went off to Spirit World awfully quick..."** Azar muttered.

"Cool... I killed someone just by looking at him!" I exclaimed with glee.

"You did this?" The guards shouted as they glared at me and raised their weapons.

"Opps!" I blurted out as I covered my mouth and instinctively turned around and ran away. I ran through many other hallways that had murals similar to the one I was shown, though the guards were hot on my heels.

"**Hey... Why are you running away?"** Azar muttered in a tone that was close to annoyance. **"You could easily just kill them."**

"Says you! Personally, I don't feel like risking my life on a technique that I haven't mastered yet!" I shouted. It was only logical. Sure I could kill off one person, but who knows what would happen if I tried it on a large amount of people at once.

Much to my dismay, the hallway I was currently running down was a dead end. However, there was also a window there. Against my better judgement I jumped through it, praying that the fall wouldn't kill me. I landed with a loud _THUD!_ on the hard ground, in such an ungraceful manner that klutzes everywhere would be jealous.

"Ow..." I muttered, feeling numerous bruises taking form.

"Hey, that's her!" A demon called out, attracting my attention. I looked up, only to find myself surrounded by a mob of angry villagers. "It's the goddess of death!"

"You've gotta be kidding!" I exclaimed as the villagers grabbed pitchforks and machetes, among other lethal tools, and lunged at me. I used my aura to create a spherical shield around myself, halting the villagers' attacks, and then caused it explode outwards, sending the demons flying. Without a moment's hesitation, I bolted away in search of an exit to the village. I frantically ran through many streets, until I spotted a large gate in the distance. My face lit up as I headed towards my salvation, but my hopes were shot down as a large group of guards appeared, blocking my path.

"Not fair..." I whined, feeling slightly out of breath. Suddenly, the gate was busted open from the outside. Then there was a flash of blue light, and the guards were blown up. "Hey, I know a moron who uses Spirit attacks like that." I muttered with a smirk. As if on cue, Yusuke appeared through the smoke created by the explosion, followed by Kuwabara and Hiei.

"Mo-mo!" The baka-duo exclaimed as they ran up to me. "Funny coincidence, running into you at the gate like this when we came to rescue you." Yusuke grinned. "I hope you weren't trying to escape on your own."

"And give up being saved by my knights in shining armour? No way." I replied sarcastically. Yusuke, Kuwabara and I burst out laughing. "Good to see you guys again. You too, Hiei." I said, giving him a smile.

"You're not hurt?" Hiei asked, while plastering a look of indifference onto his face, even though we all knew he had been worried.

"No, not physically." I replied with an identical mask of indifference, despite the fact that I enjoyed how Hiei cared about me. "Though they started preaching some garbage about how I'm the reincarnation of some goddess of death... I hate it when people do that."

"Yeah, well at least something interesting is happening to you!" Yusuke complained. "It turns out the village that we went to was just being caught in the cross-fire of the other two. I didn't get to fight, or even argue with anyone! They were so cooperative, I forgot they were demons!"

"Quit whinin' Urameshi! It's a _good_ thing that we didn't have any trouble in that village!" Kuwabara shouted at him.

"Shut up!" Yusuke scoffed. "Anyway, we decided there was no point in stickin' around; since they weren't gonna do anything. So we left and came over here since we figured that you and shorty would probably have a harder time making negotiations than Fai and Kurama." Hiei rolled his eyes at that last comment.

"Well, in any case, let's get the hell outta here. There's no way these guys are going to negotiate with _anyone_, so let's leave and hope Fai and Kurama had better luck." I said. The boys nodded in agreement.

However, we were then surrounded by a large number of angry demons. The boys and I got into a defensive position as we thought about the best way to take them out.

"Jeez, they must have summoned the entire village!" I exclaimed, growing tired of this game.

"That's not short of the truth." Hiei muttered.

"Are you sure we can fight them?" Kuwabara asked. "I mean didn't Koenma tell us to try and solve this without fighting?"

"Who cares? They wanna fight, so we'll give them a fight!" Yusuke stated.

"**Ha. You guys are going to bother wasting time and energy on these goons? Mo-mo could easily take them out in seconds."** Azar muttered as she hovered above us.

"It's you!" Kuwabara exclaimed, though he went ignored.

"Yeah? Then why don't you tell me how, Oh Mighty Controller of Death." I muttered, my voice bleeding with sarcasm. Hiei and Yusuke stared curiously.

"**Fine. It's mostly about the mindset. If you legitimately want them to die then they will. You can also dictate how they die, but that's something a little harder to do so we'll leave that for another day. The black aura you saw is something that only the controllers of life and death can see. It's the thing that snuffs out a person's life and separates the soul from the body. You can create and control it. The controller of life, however can destroy it."**

"Cool... Good thing I already have experience using aura." I smiled.

"**It's no coincidence. The controller of death is always a user of aura so that when she realizes her powers it's easier to master****.**** Now do it."**

"Right." I took a deep breath and began to focus.

"Uhhh, what's going on?" Yusuke muttered to Kuwabara.

"That spirit told Mo-mo how to kill people, and now she's gonna try it on these demons." Kuwabara replied.

"Hey, shut up unless you wanna die with them!" I shouted in frustration. The two boys flinched, and then ceased their chatter. I went back to focusing. It couldn't be too hard; after all, I'd done it before not too long ago. I thought hard about wanting the demons that surrounded us to die, and sure enough the black aura appeared. I spread it out to consume all the demons. Anyone it touched instantly froze, and then fell to the ground dead. As Azar said, within seconds all the demons were dead. I saw their spirits separate from their bodies briefly before disappearing off to Spirit World.

"What the hell... They all just dropped dead!" Yusuke exclaimed as he, Kuwabara and Hiei stared in astonishment.

"**Not half bad..."** Azar muttered.

"Damn it, why can't I do that?" Hiei muttered enviously.

"Whatever. Let's just get out of here please." I said as I quickly turned to leave. The three boys followed slowly, while maintaining looks of shock on their faces.

* * *

We walked through a forest in the direction of the village Fai and Kurama were assigned to. We hadn't been walking very long, but Yusuke was hounding me with questions about how I'd killed all those demons. I tried to answer as best I could, but Kuwabara kept interrupting to talk about what he heard Azar say in an attempt to make it seem as though he was an expert. It was really annoying.

Suddenly Hiei stopped and turned away to look at something. "Over there." He said.

"What?" The three of us blinked. We then heard voices that were approaching us.

"I mean it, Kurama! You are not to tell _anyone_ about what happened!"

"Whatever you say, Fai."

"There you guys are!" Yusuke exclaimed as he jumped out of a bush into Fai's face.

"GYAAAA!" Fai exclaimed as she fell backwards, only to have Kurama catch her. "Don't do that, stupid detective! And _you_! Let me go!" Fai exclaimed as she struggled out of Kurama's arms.

"So what don't you want Kurama to tell anyone, eh?" Kuwabara asked with a mischievous smirk.

"None of your business!" Fai said sternly.

"Awww, c'mon. What is it?" Yusuke pried.

"MO-MO!" Fai said loudly as she rushed over to me and gave me a big hug. "It feels like I haven't seen you in such a long time... Like my life has been on hiatus for two months..."

"Yeah, I missed you too." I said as I freed myself from her grasp. "But you know that thing that you don't want anyone to know about... Could it possibly be about some romance between you and Kurama?"

"N-no..." Fai attempted horribly to lie. I saw Kurama sigh in the background.

"Really? Cause a little spirit birdie told me that Kurama died, but you brought him back to life with a bit of smooching." I grinned as Fai's face became horrified.

"What... No... How did you know? MO-MO YOU TRAITOR!" Fai cried out.

"We are definitely getting the details about that!" Yusuke exclaimed with excitement. Fai let out a loud, prolonged whine.

"I guess you didn't have much luck with negotiations?" Hiei asked Kurama.

"Well, due to... unavoidable circumstances, everyone in the village had to die." Kurama almost sounded like he was in pain as he said that, and put his hand to his neck. "How about you guys?"

"The same." Hiei replied.

"And guess what? I mastered the power I used to kill Serafin!" I exclaimed as I resisted the urge to jump up and down with joy. "Remember that stuff Genkai was saying about the controller of death? Well, it's all true. Which means I can make people drop dead just by thinking about it! Oh, and Fai is the controller of life, which means she can bring people back from the dead. As you already know..." I looked over at Kurama, who smiled awkwardly.

"Well, I don't know about you guys, but I'm getting tired of this place." Fai said. "Let's go report back to Spirit World, so I can go back to my apartment and have Mo-mo all to myself again."

"Sounds like a good idea." The rest of us agreed.

"**NO!"** Azar shouted, as she popped up in front of my face.** "Sorry kid, but you absolutely cannot go to Spirit World!"**

"What is with you?" I exclaimed as I stepped away. "Seriously, what is your problem with Spirit World?"

"Mo-mo, are you alright?" Kurama inquired.

"It's that ghost again!" Kuwabara replied for me. "She's tellin' Mo-mo not to go to Spirit World."

"Why not?" Yusuke asked.

"I can come up with several reasons." Hiei muttered.

"**Look, I'm sorry I didn't mention this sooner, but I had to be sure that you're actually the new controller of death and not just some kid who can see spirits****.****"** Azar said.** "King Enma is after your powers."**

"Excuse me?" I muttered, taken aback.

"**400 years ago, when I was alive, my sister and I worked for Spirit World like you do."** Azar explained, though a great sadness filled her eyes. **"I was the controller of death, and she was the controller of life. We were what you call spirit detectives, and we trusted those bastards... but they betrayed us. One day King Enma summoned us... We didn't know why, but we decided to go anyway, not suspecting anything. When we got there he explained how he wanted our powers so that he could do more than just house the spirits of the dead... He wants full control over who dies, how and when. Then he... he devoured my sister. That's how it works; when he eats you he gains your powers."**

I stared, unsure exactly what to think of.

"Hey, Kuwabara, you know what's going on, right?" Yusuke asked.

"Yeah..." Kuwabara muttered as he proceeded to fill in the others.

"But what happened to your sister's spirit." I asked.

"**Gone... when Enma devoured her, she ceased to exist..."** Azar replied. She looked like she would be crying if she wasn't a spirit. **"I managed to escape before he could get me too... But I knew that he would still be after me. Since my powers would disappear after death, I killed myself. And since then I've been resisting Spirit World and waiting for you so that I could warn you."**

"Shit..." I muttered. "And how convenient is it that we got sent to a place where I was forced to learn my powers."

"A little too convenient." Kurama said. "If what she says is true, then there is no doubt that Spirit World sent us here on purpose."

"Those bastards... It's just like them to pull something like this..." Yusuke muttered through gritted teeth.

"**Kid, you can't go to Spirit World. I wouldn't be surprised if they're waiting for you."**

"Then what are we supposed to do now?" Kuwabara demanded.

"We won't report anything about either Mo-mo or Fai's powers..." Kurama said. "But still, Mo-mo can't come to make the report..."

"She got sick..." Hiei said, though he seemed very tense. "We'll tell them that she got sick in the Makai. I'll take her back to her apartment."

"Sounds good to me." I said. In truth, it made me feel better that Hiei was going to be with me. Now that I know Spirit World is out to get me, I'm going to me more paranoid than Fai is.

* * *

Hiei and I sat in silence in my apartment, though I'm sure we were both thinking about the same thing. Or rather, I was trying not to think about the fact that Spirit World is out to get me. Constantly worrying didn't seem like an appropriate way to handle the situation. And besides, now that I had control over my new powers, it would be easy to take out anyone who tries to jump me. On top of that, the guys will be there helping me. And now that Fai knows they're after me, she won't stop until they're all dead. For once I was grateful for her unnatural obsession with me.

Suddenly Hiei tensed up more so than he already was. "Damn... I don't need him here now..."

"Hm?" I raised an eyebrow at the fire demon.

Then a pair of hands covered my eyes. "Guess who?" A familiar voice sang out.

"Uh... Hi, Koray..." I replied, not really amused. Seriously, five-year-olds play the guess-who game, not fully grown demons.

"Awww, what's up? You guys seem awfully down." Koray said.

"It's none of your business. Now leave!" Hiei growled.

"Ohhh, sounds like something serious." Koray said with an amused smirk. "C'mon Mo-mo, tell me what's going on."

"I really don't feel like talking about it..." I said.

Koray sighed, and put a pouty expression on his face. "Fine, then I won't tell you about the Spirit World agents who've been stalking around this place."

"What?" Hiei and I exclaimed in unison.

"Yeah, they're probably still watching right now... Oh, well." Koray shrugged as he began to walk towards the door.

"Hold on, if you know all about this then why haven't you done anything?" Hiei demanded.

"Well, I'd like to... But it's none of my business, right?" Koray smirked. Hiei growled and averted his eyes.

"Alright, I'll tell you." I gave in. "I have this power to kill people, but King Enma wants it, and the only way to do that is for him to devour me. So now Spirit World is out to get me."

"That's awful!" Koray exclaimed. "Don't worry, Mo-mo I'll be there to help you through this! Come on Hiei, let's go waste those Spirit World jack-asses!"

"Wait, wha-" Hiei struggled as Koray grabbed him and stormed out of my apartment.

"Uh... Bye?" I muttered as I embraced the awkward silence to follow. That was... weird. Since when does Koray care so much about me? He doesn't usually care about anything unless he's getting something out of it. I couldn't help but feel as though his concern was somewhat less than genuine.

I sighed and decided to go to the kitchen and get something to eat. However, I was stopped when I heard footsteps. I froze on the spot and listened hard to find their source, but the sound was gone. Suddenly a pair of hands grabbed me, and placed a cloth over my mouth. Slowly, I fell into unconsciousness.

* * *

**What's this? WE LIIIIIIIVE! Yeah, sorry there hasn't been any work on this in a while... College started up, and then I had dental surgery, which put me two weeks behind in my school work, so for a while I had absolutely no free time . But yeah, with luck we will keep it going! Enjoy the TNH rebirth :)**


	61. Chapter 61

**FAIYUKI'S POV**

We arrived at Koenma's office quickly, thanks to a portal that conveniently popped up for us.

"How did Hiei get Mo-mo home, anyways? Does he have some gate between Human world and Demon world?" I asked, looking to Kurama curiously. He just shrugged, surprisingly not knowing himself.

"So what are we going to tell Koenma?" Yusuke asked, probably referring to the situation with Mo-mo.

"We agreed that we'd tell him that she's sick and that Hiei took her back to the apartment; and there's no need to mention that thing." I muttered, giving Yusuke a warning look, "All you need to do is report for you. Kurama and I will cover the situation on the other two villages." Yusuke sighed; probably annoyed that once again his job was the easy one.

"Welcome back, Spirit detectives!" Botan squealed as usual, a big, goofy smile on her face, "How was your mission?"

"It went well, thank you Botan." Kurama said with a calm voice. The report went as usual, except Koenma kept asking if there was anything else we'd like to report. After we were finally released I stayed behind, giving a warning look at Koenma after the boys had left.

"I really hope you and your father don't intend to interrupt our lives, especially after that Serafin incident. It would be," I paused, wondering how to word it in a way that wasn't so threatening, "It could have bad results for you, if it did. My loyalties are not to spirit world, but to my friends who work for you. I suggest you don't forget that. Remember what happened when Koray messed with my friends?" I smiled slightly, glaring down on Koenma, before my mood did a full 180 degree flip. "Have a good day!" I said with a wide, overly happy smile as I turned and left. When I got outside I simply answered Kurama's curious look with a pleased smile and a shake of my head. "Just making sure he was feeling well." I said, shoving my hands into my pockets as we headed home.

After the group said their goodbyes I continued alone to my apartment. I was surprised when I didn't sense anybody in the area; both Mo-mo and Hiei should still be there, we hadn't taken _that_ long.

"Mo-mo?" I asked as I opened the door, which I found to be unlocked. I barely noticed the medium sized footprint on the darkly painted wood as I entered the house, leaving the door open. "What the hell?" I questioned to the empty apartment.

Looking around the main room, well it was a mess. Books and magazines strewn everywhere, and a few sketchbooks as well. The chairs were knocked over and the table had been broken in two. There was no blood, but there seemed to be just a lingering sense of 'Hiei' to the room. And not the bunny Hiei we all picture in our heads, either. The kitchen was a disaster as well; if I thought the main room was a mess, then my kitchen had just become a China shop and a bull had come for dinner.

"Mo-mo?" I called out again, slightly more frantic this time. She had to be here, she said she'd be here! I didn't actually think I would have to fulfil my threat to Koenma! Although I hadn't exactly been lying.

Suddenly I ducked, narrowly avoiding a very sharp blade that I had already dealt with before. A few more seconds of life saving dodges and I finally managed to shout out,

"Hiei! What the hell!" He stopped mid slice, one that would have otherwise taken my head off I'll add, and glared at me.

"What the hell are you doing here?" he growled taking his sword away from my neck.

"Hmm, let's see. Oh wait. I LIVE here!" I shouted in reply, ranting frantically as I waved my hands at my destroyed apartment, "Where the hell is Mo-mo! And what's with the mess?"

Hiei twitched partially and my mouth just dropped.

"You had better not be the cause of this." I growled, as I stared in shock at all the damages that had been caused.

"That's not the important thing right now, I-" I cut Hiei off as he surprisingly tried to explain the situation to me.

"YOU KILLED MY APARTMENT?" I shouted out, ready to give the little midget the same treatment I had given his father.

"I LOST MO-MO!" He finally shouted glaring away, ashamed, as he clenched his sword. My eyes narrowed dangerously as I tried slowly to calm myself.

"You lost what now?" I asked, wanting to make sure I heard correctly.

"You heard right the first time, idiot." He muttered his voice dangerously low.

"Okay so I'm going to pass out now, and you have until I wake up to find out where the hell she is." I stated, already feeling light headed. Crashing to the ground was a fun trip that I guess I must have been used to at this point, and I was unconscious before I hit the ground.

* * *

"He lost Mo-mo. HOW THE HELL DID HE LOSE MO-MO!" I shouted the second I woke up. I wasn't surprised to see the whole gang there at that point, although the apartment still looked like shit.

"We've already covered that-"Cutting off Yusuke I stood up and looked at the boys.

"Do we know what the plan is?" I asked with a sharp and snappy voice.

"No, but..." This time I found myself cutting off Kurama.

"Okay, you are all going to sit here and fry your little brains until you figure out a plan. I am going to cook dinner." Without waiting to see if anybody agreed to my plan I stalked off to the kitchen, slamming the door to the living room shut with exceeding force.

I sat in the kitchen for a long time, using my powers to make the dinner dish faster than it would take to do like a normal human. In one corner I had rice boiling, in another eggs being cracked into a bowl, vegetables being cut and meat being fried, and I was taking care of the spices; mainly Cayenne Pepper, Paprika, and hot sauce, although there was black pepper and Italian seasoning as well. While these were cooking I found duck tape, much to my own surprise in the mess, and went out to the living room. If the boys tried to speak with me, I blocked them out. As earlier shown, I'm quite good at blocking out what I don't want to deal with. After the table was literally covered in tape, which did a very good job of holding it together, I went back to the kitchen and continued to cook.

I began to wash the dishes, seeing as my hands were free, when Yusuke walked in. He seemed very reproachful as he asked if I was okay.

"What do you want?" was my snappy reply, as my hands twitched in the hot, bubbly water.

"You don't have to be so bitchy! It's not like Hiei tried to get Mo-mo ki-" I cut Yusuke off with an obviously fake sneeze, and I flung my hand over my shoulder. Turning with a morbid smile I looked to Yusuke, who had a knife next to his head on one side, and a fork on the other; both shoved deeply into the wall.

"Excuse me." I said, as if the sneeze were an accident as I pulled the cutlery from the wall. Yusuke left and nobody came into the kitchen after that.

When the rice was ready I dumped it into the pan that had now cooked bacon in it, adding the eggs and mixing vigorously. I suddenly remembered some last minute ingredients and added soya sauce, ketchup, and a LOT of hot sauce. After the mixture resembled a very red mush I added the spices, probably overdosing on the extremely spicy Cayenne pepper and paprika. Then adding the vegetables I mixed it all together and poured it into a pot, walking out to the table which shone with a grey sheen, thank God for duck tape. The bowls were set out and I took a large spoonful for myself, filling up the bowl past its rim and beginning to eat. The boys looked sceptically at the food, but because I was eating it (and not dying) I guess they assumed it was okay. All the boys, including Hiei after a meaningful look from Kurama, took a bowl of the red mush that almost looked as if it had once been a living animal of some form, which was ground down and mashed back together.

Kuwabara was the first to almost make a mess. The bowl dropped to the ground, or got close, but I thankfully managed to catch it on a platform of ice. Yusuke's bowl crashed to the table and Kurama immediately stiffened up, a light sweat breaking out on all of their foreheads. In fact, only Hiei and I seemed to be unaffected.

"Are you trying to kill us?" Yusuke gasped out as he held his tongue, pained tears streaming down his now red face.

"Do you have a problem with my cooking?" I asked, sending him a glare. It was at that point that Kuwabara hit the floor. I looked over to him with a frown, then over to Kurama who was obviously struggling and Hiei. "Do you two like it?" I asked, pouting slightly.

"It's surprisingly good..." Hiei muttered, helping himself to seconds.

"Are you crazy? It's spicy as hell!" Yusuke burst out. Kurama simply gaped, although it's possible that he wasn't even capable of speaking after him third spoonful.

I sighed, pointing to the kitchen.

"There's bread and milk in the fridge." I muttered, and both Yusuke and Kurama shot up.

"Would you like a glass? I'll get you a glass too." Kurama said with a slight twitch; he was obviously trying to cover up the pain my cooking caused him.

I sighed and finished my bowl, filling another one up for myself as Hiei went back for thirds. Well, at least the food would probably get finished.

After dinner, we all quietly converged into the living room. There was a lot of tension in the air, and all I could do was wait anxiously until one of the boys – meaning Kurama – would suddenly speak up and lay out a plan to rescue Mo-mo. Sadly, no one spoke for a long time. Everyone seemed to be lost in their own thoughts, and Hiei especially was gloomier than usual.

"I think-"

"FINALLY!" I shouted out, cutting of Kurama. Everyone stared at me awkwardly. "I'm sorry, continue."

"What I was going to say is, I think we're going to have to play this by ear." Kurama said.

"What is that supposed to mean?" I burst out angrily. "I thought you talking meant you have a plan, but instead your plan is to have no plan? That's stupid! Mo-mo's life – scratch that, Mo-mo's _existence_ is at stake! Now's not the time for you to be out of ideas!"

"For once, I have to agree with the annoying cat." Hiei muttered.

"You don't understand. We don't have enough information to form a plan that will actually succeed." Kurama explained. "We don't know where in Spirit World Mo-mo is being held, we don't know what security measures they have placed, and we don't even know where in Spirit World King Enma resides."

"So what you're saying is our only options are to either do nothing, or just burst in there and hope for the best." Kuwabara said.

"Pretty much." Kurama replied.

"Well then why are sitting here busting our asses? Let's get going!" Yusuke shouted impatiently.

"Alright, fine." I muttered. "Let's go get Mo-mo back!" Although I didn't like the idea of us going to get Mo-mo without knowing what in god's name we're doing, there was no choice in the matter. I wasn't going to let that bastard have my best friend.

**2 hours later, in front of the Gates of Judgement**

Our gang stared at the incredibly huge gates that stood before us. We were all prepared mentally for this one-in-a-gazillion-chances-of-winning battle, not to mention we were prepared physically. We had all changed into some battle-appropriate attire before arriving (well, everyone except Hiei, who wore the exact same outfit everyday): Kurama was wearing a green tunic over top of his usual white pants and shirt, Yusuke wore his pale yellow shirt with torn sleeves atop his navy blue martial arts pants, and Kuwabara was sporting his white jacket with matching pants, boots and a bandanna. As for me, I was wearing an unusual outfit. The tight shirt had one strap which was an inch or so thick and off the shoulder sleeves, and tight black shorts underneath a short skirt which parted at the side; it was a light blue with gold detailing. I wore a comfortable pair of black shoes on my feet, and my blond hair hung loose just above my shoulders, floating in the wind.

"You guys ready?" Yusuke said with a smirk. Everyone nodded dramatically. "Then let's go. SPIRIT GUN!"

The Gates of Judgment exploded with a flash of blue light, and in we went. Coughing was heard through the smoke, both from my own party and from whoever was on the other side. Soon we all managed to compose ourselves and we found ourselves facing a familiar opponent.

"What the hell are they doing here…?" Hiei growled a light twitch to his left eye. We all sweatdropped, watching as the vampire twins continued to cough.

"I will be the one to rescue Mo-mo!" Yuki yelled out, causing Hiei to twitch again. Kirane, however, was practically glowing as he bounded over.

"Kitten!" he sang out, falling to the ground as Kurama pulled me back, effectively saving me from a flying glomp of doom.

"What do you guys want?" I asked, the dramatic moment ruined by their sudden, and uninvited, intrusion.

"I want-" Kirane was cut off by my foot, which was now planted in his face.

"We're going to rescue Mo-mo!" Yuki yelled out again. Hiei twitched again. Slowly, the expressions on our faces changed. We radiated a dangerous aura which meant that someone would be put into pain, and we would enjoy every minute of it. The vampires suddenly became worried as our eyes, glowing with pure evil, fell onto them.

Within moments the vampire twins had been defeated, left beaten to a pulp in the dust.

"I can't believe there was a time where we were afraid of losing to them." Yusuke muttered, as the rest of us nodded in agreement.

We walked for a good half hour to an hour before we found the next room.

"I don't remember spirit world being this… big." I muttered crossing my arms as Yusuke and Kuwabara pushed the doors open. We walked in only to be met by a cloud of fog and deep cackling.

"Now you are all doomed!" the deep voice yelled out, continuing to laugh as my group hacked away again.

"What the hell is this?" Yusuke asked, continuing to cough as the fog invaded our lungs.

"Uh, guys, I feel kinda funny." I mumbled watching as everything seemed to grow. After a few moments the fog faded away, leaving me to find that everything _had_ in fact grown. I looked down at my hands, very small and rounded compared to normal, and found that the boys were going through the same epiphany as well; we had aged backwards to around the age of four or five.

For the boys, it was quite a funny site; swamped by clothing it seemed we were more likely to die in the process of escaping our clothes than by the over-sized ogre child that laughed from in front of us. I didn't have so much of a problem, just having to step out of my skirt and shoes; luckily, what had fit me as a shirt previously, made a great dress now, along with the now loose shorts, which were more like pants. I simply stepped out of my shoes and skirt, holding up the loose pants as I tore a strip of fabric off the skirt, trying to tie it around my waste to use as a belt.

The boys seemed to be in the same situation; after some effort Kurama had made a robe like outfit out of his shirt, it hanging just below the knees. Hiei seemed content to just wrap his robe tighter around him, ditching his too big pants and using his shirt as a dress like outfit. Yusuke's yellow wife beater dragged down at his feet; he'd probably trip over it later but he refused to shorten it. Kuwabara, in similar fashion, was mourning the fact that he could no longer wear his ridiculous outfit; also now standing in an oversized shirt which came to just above his ankles.

"Okay! So who wants to fight him?" I asked, giving a piece sign as Hiei twitched. He unsheathed his sword, then fell over as he lifted the large blade over his head then lost his balance, the sword weighing a significant amount more to the child's body. With and angry glare he turned his head away growling under his breath as he moved his focus to trying to find a way to keep his sheathed blade on him, as his belt which held the blade in place no longer fit him.

"I guess I'll go, after all, my abilities won't really be affected by this form." Kurama said, smiling sheepishly as he watched the rest of us, including Hiei, try to adjust to the new forms. Both Kuwabara and Yusuke had tripped over their 'shirts' in an attempt to stand up, and I was still trying to tie my 'pants' into place so that they wouldn't fall down.

"You're so little! There is no way you'll defeat me!" The ogre yelled, laughing manically. After a few moments we realised it was in fact, true. Although it had nothing to do with size; he simply brushed off Kurama's attack, and because none of us could get in close, defeating him did in fact seem impossible.

"Kurama! Get back here! We'll just ru- AH!" Kuwabara yelled out as he tripped over his feet again.

"Kurama! Just kill him with your awesome!" I shouted out, holding my small hands next to my mouth as though it would allow my voice to project further. The boys all stared at me, confusion evident on their face. Kurama turned back to the ogre and blinked.

"Kill him with my… awesome?" he asked, and as he did the ogre fell to the ground, dead. (Yuki: In an autopsy later taken, it was found that he died due to a stroke and heart attack, which happened at the exact same time.) So we continued on our journey, only stopping when Ayame popped up.

So it turned out that Kurama was smart enough to call along the powerful girl, knowing that the backup would most likely be needed. He just didn't tell us because he didn't know if she'd for sure come. But it was a good thing she did, because our next opponent wasn't somebody _any_ of us wanted to face.

"Ayame! How could you?" Koray gasped out, pointing at the boys and I, who were still in children form, "You had kids with _all_ of them? Even the girl? Is that even possible?" Koray yelled out, continuing to babble accusingly, but not before muttering, "I wouldn't mind seeing that one, at least."

With an angry glare from Ayame their fight ensued, and we took that opportunity to sneak by them, really not wanting to deal with Koray.

"So she _did_ wind up being useful." Hiei grumbled, crossing his arms with a smirk, before tripping over his now too-large robes.

"Life is really going to suck for you if she heard that." I said, grinning as I pulled my sleeve up my shoulder.

The shirt was just too big, so that the sleeves kept falling off my shoulders; it was getting slightly irritating but this had to wear off eventually, right?

We finally made it to the second room, and it took all of the boys to get the huge door open (NOTE TO MO-MO: DRAW THE BOYS STRUGGLING: D).

As usual, the grey fog escaped out of the room in a dramatic poof, and deep laughing occurred. That wasn't our focus though. The two familiar voices which rang out held more of our attention.

"Brotherrr! I'm hungry!"

"Then eat!" Kirane replied to his brothers complains, his irritation clear in his voice.

"I don't usually eat junk food, but I guess today will be the exception…" When the fog had cleared a giant, our opponent supposedly, was head on the ground and drained of his blood. The twins, however, stood very much alive… well, not alive, but animate.

"I thought we dealt with you." Yusuke growled, a scowl appearing on his childish face.

"And how'd you get back here before us?" Kuwabara asked, frowning and tilting his head as he looked up at the vampires.

"We're vampires; that's how." Yuki said, wiping the blood away from his mouth.

Once again, it didn't take long for us to be walking away from the beaten bodies of the vampire twins.

"Even as children we can beat them." Hiei said, a cruel smirk playing at his lips.

"Like I said; how were we ever afraid of losing to them?" Yusuke repeated, sighing.

* * *

When we finally arrived outside we could see a flurry of movement through the door. Mo-mo was lying unconscious on a bed, although we could still see the steady rise and fall of her chest indicating he was alive. Enma was shouting orders left, right, and center.

_Probably in preparation._ I thought, turning to Kurama as an idea, sparked by a song that had been stuck in my head for the last few days.

"Kurama," I whispered, looking up at him because even as children he was taller than me, "Can you make a powder from some sort of herb that will slow her breathing and heart rate so they think she died?"

He frowned down on me, a confused look dancing across his eyes. A light, 'Just trust me' got him to do it, though he still seemed uneasy. I began to shape a jar with my ice; inside was filled with flat reflective panels of ice, which made it look as though the jar were glowing.

Waiting for my cue, which was a distressed cry of "Sir, she's not breathing!" I leapt into the room, holding the jar above my head. A mischievous grin danced across my face as I began dancing, mocking the king of the underworld. A light tune escaped my lips as I struggled to restrain laughter.

"I gotta jar of iceee, I gotta jar of iceeee, I gotta jar of iceeee, and guess what? Mo-mo's inside iit~" I sang. I couldn't help but enjoy how the large kings face fell with anger as he 'realised' that I had just stolen the soul he intended to devour. With a sudden movement, I found myself flying out the window. Blinking, the first thought that came to my mind was, _'Did he just bitch-slap me?'_

Which he unfortunately did.

As I fell towards the ground, I was caught by a levitating nest of dethorned roses. Blinking over at Kurama, I grinned. Grabbing his hand, I figured Hiei could take care of it; Yusuke and Kuwabara were there as meat shields, and _eventually_ the child power thing would wear off. Hugging Kurama we drifted slowly towards the ground.

* * *

**Welcome back, our wonderful readers who continue to stay with us during these times of great struggle. But this time, the long wait IS NOT MY FAULT. Yuki, our wonderful writer of all things Faiyuki, got distracted by NaNo in November, but I can't blame her for that. Unfortunately, after that she lost all inspiration to write anything at all... (really, there should be a journal feature in FF so we can let our readers know what the heck is going on during these long wait periods) BUT now we're back (again) and I promise the next chapter won't be such a long wait. Hope you enjoy TNH :)**


	62. Chapter 62

**MO-MO'S POV**

_Everything was really light, and relaxed. I wasn't too sure exactly what was going on, but for some reason it didn't seem to matter. I couldn't make out any clear surroundings, and it seemed as though I spinning very slowly. I recalled being under a lot of stress before coming into this state, and it felt nice to be so calm for once. It was almost as though I was lying on a really soft bed, in a really deep, comfortable sleep. Suddenly, I was aware of two other presences. I looked up to see Prince Zuko beating the shit out of his sister Azula, like in the final battle during the comet. I smiled because rather than doing that self-sacrifice crap to save Katara (which made me hate the Zuko/Katara pairing forever), he shoots his own bolt of lightning, and utterly destroys Azula. My smile grew even wider as I took in Zuko's awesomeness. And then I suddenly heard two very loud battle cries that sounded like "ATATATATATA!" and "SHOOOOOOU!". I turned my head to see Kenshiro making people's bodies blow up like balloons, and Rei slicing people to ribbons. I couldn't help but smile as the large number of destroyed corpses fell to the ground in a bloody mess. Then, out of nowhere, Gurren Lagann popped up and Kamina started shouting something about fighting spirit! But then he was hit by a Dragon Slave that came from Lina Inverse, and then Majeh started shouting about how he's the best martial artist in the world, and then Kurei was sighing at his stupidity, and then Alucard appeared and started laughing, and then-_

"GYAAAA!" I screamed as my eyes shot open. I was breathing heavily, almost as if my air supply had been cut off for a while. "What the hell..." I muttered, as I tried to collect my thoughts. A dream... It was just a dream... I thought to myself as I sighed, trying to return my breathing to normal.

"SHE'S ALIVE!" I heard someone yell. My head quickly turned to the source of the voice, and I realized that there was a whole roomful of people staring at me.

"Um... Hi?" I muttered awkwardly, not having the slightest clue as to what was going on. On the other side of the room, I was delighted to see Hiei, Yusuke and Kuwabara. They looked different, but from my distance I couldn't tell why. "Um, guys... What in hell's name is going on?" I called out to them. Everyone face-palmed.

"IDIOT! DON'T YOU REMEMBER?" Hiei shouted back to me. "YOU WERE KIDNAPPED BY SPIRIT WORLD, SO THAT ENMA COULD HAVE YOUR POWERS!"

I took a moment to consider things. Then everything flooded back into my mind all at once. If there was a light bulb hovering over my head, it would have lit up with my sudden epiphany. "Ohhh... Shit." I muttered, realizing that the people in the room were Spirit World agents.

"Heh, so the girl was lying when she said she had your soul." The loud, thundering voice of King Enma said. I, of course, had no idea what he was talking about. "In that case, back to the original plan." The ruler of Spirit World then stood up from his large throne, and started walking towards me.

"MO-MO!" The boys called out as they began to run towards me. However, they were stopped by the large group of Spirit World lackeys.

"Getting my powers isn't going to be such an easy thing!" I shouted as I focused on making an attack of aura. Nothing happened. "Huh?" I muttered as I stared at my arms. They were covered in seals to prevent me from using my aura. "GUYS! HELP MEEEE!" I shouted out, truly terrified for my life, as I started to run away from Enma. Unfortunately, the effort was wasted; Enma was at least ten times my size, so he could walk faster than I could run.

"Dammit! We're coming!" Yusuke shouted as he delivered a fistful of spirit energy to several of the lackeys blocking the way. Kuwabara also knocked several of them down with his spirit sword. Hiei, using his incredible speed, disappeared from sight and shot past the lackeys, taking off several heads as he went along.

Enma was now reaching his hand down to pick me up as I tried, and failed, to run away. Just before he could grab hold of me, Hiei swooped by, taking me with him. He flung me over his shoulder and continued on towards the exit. However, King Enma fired a fired a large blast of energy at us. There wasn't time for Hiei to dodge it; the blast was too big and coming at us too fast.

"Spirit Gun!" Yusuke exclaimed as he fired his trademark attack at the blast coming towards us. The two forces collided not too far away from Hiei and me, creating a large explosion. We were caught in it and sent flying, only to receive several bruises and scrapes upon our landing.

"Ow..." I muttered as Yusuke and Kuwabara rushed over to us. Yusuke helped me to my feet, and Hiei got up on his own. "I suppose that could have been worse."

"Good to see you're alright." Yusuke said with a smirk.

"Yeah, we were really worried about you." Kuwabara continued.

"Thanks, guys. But you know, I'd feel much better if you could get rid of these seals." I said, holding up my arms. The boys nodded and promptly removed them. "Alright, let's get out of here!"

We bolted for the exit, Yusuke and Kuwabara in front. However, just as they reached the doorway, the two idiots were stopped, and knocked backwards by an invisible force.

"What the hell?" Yusuke exclaimed, as he and Kuwabara got up, rubbing their probably-bruised bottoms.

"Tch. A shield." Hiei muttered with a look of great annoyance on his face.

"You've got that right." King Enma said as he stared us with an un-amused expression on his face. "I hope you didn't think things would be so simple. With this shield set up, there's no way for you to escape. Even if you continue to resist, the result will be the same. You have no hope of defeating me in a fight."

"You shouldn't underestimate us." Yusuke grinned confidently. "You've known us all this time, so you should know that we don't give up so easily."

"Yeah, and on top of that, we've got an escape plan!" Kuwabara continued as he held out his hands. "Dimension Sword!" He shouted as the glowing greenish yellow sword manifested into his hands. He then turned to the spot where he and Yusuke had been knocked back, and raised his sword. Using all of his strength, Kuwabara swung the sword at the shield. However, instead of cutting through it, his sword bounced off as though it had hit jello and brought Kuwabara crashing to the ground.

There was an awkward silence as we stared at the fool lying on the ground.

"What the hell was that?" Hiei shouted as Kuwabara sat up.

"Shut up, Shorty! It wasn't _my_ fault!" Kuwabara retorted.

I sighed. "Really, Kuwabara... Isn't this the point where you create a stupidly strong attack? What's the matter, having an off day?"

"Like I said, I didn't do anything wrong!" Kuwabara continued to protest.

"You fools." King Enma's voice echoed through the room. "You are all _my_ Spirit Detectives. Did it not occur to you that I know all about the dimensional sword?" We all scowled. "Of course, creating a shield powerful enough to counter its unique properties was difficult. Nonetheless, you won't be using that to escape."

"So, uh, what's the backup plan?" I asked the guys.

"Well, there wasn't exactly a plan to begin with." Yusuke replied. "The dimensional sword _was_ the backup plan."

"Idiot!" I shouted as I punched Yusuke to the ground. I couldn't believe those guys came to rescue me without a good plan. How could Kurama and Fai let this happen? Come to think of it, where were they, anyway?

However, before my thoughts could be finished, Enma launched an attack at us. I got ready to defend, but the attack narrowly missed me; not to mention Yusuke and Kuwabara, who had to jump away to avoid the blast. Swiftly, another was sent, except that it was aimed at Hiei, who was also forced to dodge. Pissed off by the fact that Enma was clearly trying to get the boys away from me, so I'd be easy pickings, I sent my aura crawling like a shadow under his feet. I snapped my fingers and it blew up, causing the large man to fall to the ground with his feet severely wounded.

"Nice one, Mo-mo!" Kuwabara exclaimed. Enma, however, took advantage of Kuwabara's momentary distraction, and smacked him. As a result of Enma's rage attack, Kuwabara was sent flying out a window.

"Well, now we _really_ won't be using the dimensional sword as an escape method..." I sighed.

"_Bastard!_" Yusuke exclaimed as he launched a fully-powered spirit gun at the king of Spirit World. However, Enma simply held up his hand, and stopped the attack. Then in the blink of an eye, Yusuke was launched out a window in an identical fashion to Kuwabara.

"Tch. This isn't good." Hiei muttered as he appeared next to me. "Now that Yusuke's gone, we're going to have a hell of a time getting out of here."

"I can try to use my death powers on him." I suggested.

"I doubt that will work. The Spirit World rulers aren't necessarily living or dead. Therefore they can't be killed the same way humans or demons can." Hiei explained.

"Awww." I pouted. Of course it wouldn't be that easy. Suddenly, I saw something moving under Hiei's feet. Hiei gasped as black energy latched onto his feet and started slithering up his legs.

"Hiei!" I exclaimed, although I wasn't too sure what I should do. If I attacked the aura, then it would injure Hiei too.

"Don't worry about me! Just try to get out of here!" Hiei shouted as he struggled. Of course getting out of here was easier said than done. Even Kuwabara's dimensional sword couldn't break through the barrier that was set up.

Suddenly, a shadow fell over me and I noticed King Enma had approached me and was now reaching down to grab me. I fired a blast of aura at him, but it did no damage to the giant man. Finally, he got his hand around me, and picked me up – not very gently, I might add. I tried as hard as I could to struggle, but it was futile; with the size of Enma's hand, there was no way I could force myself free. As he brought me closer to his face, his lips stretched into a wide smile of anticipation. It was then that I started to panic; at that moment I truly believed I was done for. I couldn't even bear to watch as he opened his mouth, and I started to tremble.

Suddenly, the room became very warm. King Enma froze as a heavy aura encompassed everything and black flames began to spread everywhere. There was no question about it: Hiei was summoning the Dragon of the Darkness flame. The black fire emerging from his right arm spread around his body, incinerating the confines Enma had placed on him.

"Fool! If you use that here, you'll kill all of us, including your precious girlfriend!" Enma shouted.

"That's better than what you've got planned!" Hiei retorted as his energy reached its max.

I started to feel light-headed. There was an intense pressure in the air as Hiei's aura clashed with the shield Enma had placed around us. The battle between the two energies was suffocating. Enma struggled to maintain his composure in the face of such a threat, but despite that, he still managed to sustain the shield.

Suddenly, Hiei gathered a portion of his huge aura around his right arm. It shot outwards, forming something like an aura blade along his arm. Hiei then jumped into the air, and swung his right arm at the large hand that was holding me. As he did that, the aura extended further so that it was long enough to take off Enma's hand completely. I let out a gasp, as I was suddenly falling to the ground along with a giant hand. Not a moment later, Hiei appeared beside me and caught me with his left arm. Without a moment's hesitation he took me and moved away from Enma, who was now screaming in pain and flailing around.

"Put a shield around yourself. Make it as strong as you can." He commanded. I did as instructed and focused my aura. As soon as I was ready, Hiei turned around and extended his right arm. "_Dragon of the Darkeness Flame!_"

A large dragon made of black and purple flames shot out from Hiei's arm. It flew around, filling the entire room, which was already incredibly huge due to Enma's size. Despite that, there still wasn't enough space for it; the dragon pushed against Enma's shield, and sparks of energy could be seen as the ruler of spirit world lost control. The shield exploded in a mass of Enma and Hiei's aura, taking a good portion of the Gate of Judgment with it. Thankfully, the energy was headed outwards, and not towards me, or else I wouldn't have been able to maintain my own protective shield.

However, that was not the end of it. The dragon was still in perfect condition, and it soared through the now-wide open space towards the wounded and weakened King Enma. As Hiei's attack met Enma head on, a second explosion occurred, causing even more damage.

As the smoke from the explosions cleared, there was a strange calm. All the buildings around Hiei and I had been cleared, so above us was now open sky, and under our feet was only the charred remains of what had once been King Enma's throne room. I guess that meant it was over.

Hiei then turned around and started to walk towards me, though he looked pretty worn out. "Hey... You're alright?" He asked.

I smiled. "Yeah, I'm perfectly fine." Minus a few scrapes and burns here and there.

"That's good..." Hiei muttered before falling over, completely unconscious.

I sighed.

Now what?

The logical course of action would be to leave. The only question is, how exactly does one get out of Spirit World? For some reason, it didn't seem very clear to me. At the very least, I could take Hiei and get away from the spot where Enma was beaten before his lackeys arrive to investigate. I picked Hiei up and carried him on my back as I walked around the rubble that he created. I wandered for several minutes before a familiar figure descended from the sky towards us.

"Mo-mo!" Botan called out as she hovered in front of me while sitting on her oar. "There's no time to waste, come with me quickly."

"Woah, woah! Slow down, there's no reason I should trust you! Didn't you work for Enma?" I shouted accusingly.

"Well, yes. That's why I haven't been able to help you until now." Botan replied. "But now that King Enma has been badly hurt, it's the perfect time to help you escape."

"Wait, 'badly hurt' not dead?" I confirmed.

"Of course he's not dead; he's the King of Spirit World! That is why you need to get out of here before he regains consciousness!" Botan exclaimed. "Come on, Yusuke and the others are already somewhere safe."

I had my doubts, but Botan was Botan. She couldn't tell a lie with a straight face to save her life. "Alright, let's go." With that, I sat on the oar and let Botan fly Hiei and I to where Yusuke, Kuwabara, Kurama and Fai were waiting for us.

"MO-MO! YOU'RE ALIVE AND NOT EATEN!" Fai exclaimed as she jumped on me.

"Good to see you too..." I muttered with difficulty as she hung off of me.

"Well, I have to get going." Botan said. "Koenma will be looking for me soon, and you guys as well. I trust you can get out of here and find someplace to hide?"

"Yeah, don't worry, we'll take it from here." Yusuke said, giving the grim reaper thumbs up. With that, Botan flew off again.

"So, what now?" Fai asked.

"As Botan said, we need to find a safe place to hide out for a while until we can sort things out." Kurama answered.

"Well, I guess that means we're off to Genkai's place." Kuwabara said.

"No, that's far too predictable." Kurama inferred. "On top of that, it's an isolated area where spirit world can attack us as they please. If we're going to stay in human world, we should stick to the populated areas for the time being."

"Are you sure that's alright?" Yusuke asked. "Doesn't staying in the city put people's lives at risk? I mean, what would we do if they decide to attack Keiko or our families? Isn't there someplace else we can go?"

"Well, I suppose there _is_ one other option." Kurama said with slight hesitancy. The rest of us stared at him curiously.

* * *

"Hurry up, Fai!" I shouted through our apartment, which was still a mess and gradually getting worse.

"I am hurrying! What'd you pack, like one pair of clothes?" She yelled back.

"I've got all that I need. This isn't a vacation, you know."

"It might as well be." Fai said cheerfully. "Spirit World can't possible get their hands on us when we're hiding on the Demon Plane. Just relax."

"Says the one who _wasn't_ nearly eaten by a giant who happens to rule Spirit World." I muttered through clenched teeth.

"Whatever... I'm done. Happy now?" Fai grumbled as she walked into the living room with a bag twice the size of mine.

"I'm ecstatic. Now let's go meet the boys before they think we've been kidnapped." I said as I went outside where Hiei was standing watch.

We got on a bus that took us to Yusuke's apartment, where he and Kuwabara were already waiting for us. We got scolded for being late, which ended in Fai and me temporarily knocking out the two dimwits. Kurama showed up not too much later, though he seemed unusually down. We suspected it was difficult for him to convince his family to let him leave for a while. We weren't sure what kind of story he told them, and no one asked.

From there, we headed off to the Demon Plane.

* * *

**See, that didn't take a long time! LOL, anyway enjoy. Next chapter we go to Demon Plane, BWAHAHAHA!**


	63. Chapter 63

**AIYOKU FAIYUKI'S POV**

We had been in the demon plane for several days now, and much to our surprise we hadn't run into too much trouble; in fact, the few demons we had run into were too busy trying to get to some place that they didn't even take much note to us. Thankfully the excess of clothes that I had brought had come in handy, if only to mislead the hounds of the spirit world long enough for us to get into a forest, and we hadn't seen them since. Still, it wasn't easy to get by. With Yusuke and Kuwabara's appetites food had been running scarce, even with Kurama being able to use some agriculture to our benefit. On top of that, we were all feeling the wear and tear of simply being outside with little to no shelter for almost a week.

"I'm freaking hungry…" Yusuke complained, getting a similar whine from Kuwabara in response. Hiei and Mo-mo had run off, again, to work on some training; Hiei seemed to be really paranoid about how defenceless Mo-mo had been when she was kidnapped, and very much intended to correct it. Kurama and I had been off quite a bit on our own, as well. I couldn't quite place it, but I had an absolute love for even just the air in the demon plane; everything about it was just so _right_ for me, and I had no idea why because I had never been there before.

It was time to meet up again for meal time, Mo-mo needed the food and Kurama was the cook, so it was one of the few times when we were all together anymore. Things were going as usual, although Hiei and Kurama seemed slightly tenser than before, until an aura attack was thrown at us from the trees. I had hardly realised what had happened until Kurama had me in his arms and was leaping back, with Mo-mo in a similar predicament with Hiei. The aura hit the ground right at the center of our camp, causing a rather large explosion that knocked Yusuke and Kuwabara backwards. Of course, everybody's first instinct was to get into a ready stance to prepare for the potential battle, but we were soon floored to see a rather young boy standing in the gap between the trees.

"Father! Look! It's that Urameshi guy from the tournament!" A childish voice rang out, soon echoed by a sigh.

"Shura, what have I told you about attacking random camps." Came the cool and dry reply. Kurama landed only a few feet away, allowing me down to the ground. My immediate reaction was to walk towards the boy, hands on my hips, and frown down on him. Pushing the angriest face I could muster, which was rather difficult because it was an adorable little kid, I began a scolding, similar to the one I used to give the children I would babysit in the human realm.

"That was reckless!" I stated, being sure that he was paying attention to me, "What if somebody had gotten hurt, hm? Of course, you did nothing other than ruin our dinner, and maybe Yusuke's hair, but what if something had happened?" my lecture soon fell off track as I began to realise how young this boy really appeared, "That was solid aura! You could have lit the forest on fire, and then you could have gotten hurt, along with my friends!" I was surprised that, as of yet, the boy hadn't really reacted until the mention of his safety. As I crouched down to eye level to make sure the boy understood I spoke again. "You need to be more careful!"

A low chuckle rolled out from behind the boy, which soon evolved into a laugh; the child himself stood perplexed, as if he had never been warned of the dangers of playing with fire, and Kurama coughed awkwardly.

"Fai, do you realise who that is?"He asked in a slightly awkward tone, walking up behind me and placing his hand on my shoulder.

"All I know is that child needs some moral guidance!" I argued, standing up and pouting at my companion, which only earned another laugh from the man who stood before us.

"Well, Kurama, isn't this a surprise." The person said, earning another sigh from Kurama who pulled me back ever so slightly.

"Yes, Yomi, I wasn't expecting to meet you here." Kurama replied his voice cool and detached; it certainly caught me off guard.

"Yomi is… from before? At the tournament and before you became Shuichi?" I asked, trying to remember correctly, "And Shura is his kid…" I added, poking my chin as I frowned slightly.

"Correct." Kurama said, sighing as he pulled me back even more, in an 'I would rather you be closer to me and farther from him' sort of gesture. With a sigh, I took my step back, returning to Kurama's side with a light pout.

"Father, I recognise the red-head, but who's the lady?" Shura asked, his face a cross between a glare and a curious pout.

"I'm not sure, why don't you ask her?" Was his father's cool reply; and with an annoyed pout the child stepped forward.

"Well, who are you?" He asked, his voice coy and haughty.

"It's rude to ask for somebody's name before offering your own." I said, crossing my arm and scolding him with my eyes; I didn't care _what_ Kurama said, or how powerful this child was. A child is a child and they should treat their elders with respect.

"But you know my name!" He argued, crossing his arms in an angry rebellion.

"Well then, I guess that's unfortunate." I muttered, as I crossed my arms and turned my head. An angry growl echoed through the boy and that was the last straw. Pulling forward my hand, I flicked him on the forehead, an angry expression darting to my face. "You are not a dog and you should not try to speak like one!" I scolded to the very surprised looking boy; obviously this was something new to him. "If you were my child, I would put you in time out!" I crossed my arms again, sending him the most disappointed look I could muster, and to my surprise, tears began to form in his eyes.

"Well that was unexpected." Kurama muttered, as Shura came up and apologised to me, grabbing my hand and shaking it slightly.

"I'm Shura, who are you?" He asked, wiping his eyes with his free hand. My angry expression changed quickly to a kind one, as I smiled at him and shook his hand back.

"My name is Fai, and I'm happy to meet you." I said, crouching down again so we were at eye level. "See, that wasn't so bad, now was it?" I asked, smiling again as Shura backed up to Yomi, who had a rather perplexed expression on his face. Well, hell hath no comparison to a woman scorned, I guess.

We wound up going to camp with them, Yomi's _apology_ for the destruction of our tiny meal. There we were fed, given replacement clothing, and shelter (within the camp, of course). I was surprised, but it did make sense. Yomi had been a thief in the past, and not only that, he was one of the past three kings; it would make sense for him to keep some of his wealth from that time, even after a few years.

Dinner rolled around, and I had to admit I was excited. It would be nice to get something with substance beyond, well, whatever was in what we had been eating. Yomi had called Kurama to talk before the meal, not that I minded, they had been close (enough) in the past that they would probably want to catch up with each other. It was more than that, too. Since I had scolded Shura, he seemed to have taken an attachment to me; it was like everywhere I went he was there, looking to please me. It was cute, in a sort of weird way, but Kurama didn't seem to have the same opinion. He had mentioned more than once to beware the child, who was at least as strong as Yusuke was a few years back. Of course, I knew better than to underestimate him based off size and age, but the child honestly didn't seem to mean any harm.

You may be wondering where the rest of the gang had been through this period of time, after all, it was not in their natures to sit quietly and wait for somebody to give them a chore. Hiei and Mo-mo had been off doing what they were doing before, training, and only coming in for meals. I was a little worried, after all; when Mo-mo would walk in, she'd have little cuts everywhere, and her energy would be significantly depleted. If she didn't seem to be enjoying it so much, I would have probably objected. Yusuke and Kuwabara had been just hanging around the camp; sparring every now and then and eating whatever food came their way. Just as before, the only time we really saw each other was meal time.

The bell had rung for meal time, and I sat in my spot as usual; Kurama's place next to me was empty, as him and Yoki were still talking. I wasn't expecting to be jumped from behind, but a familiar laugh immediately stopped me from lashing out.

"Hello Shura." I smiled, turning in my seat to ruffle the boy's hair fondly. "Have you washed up for dinner?" A nod and a weird agreeable grunt came from the boy as he latched his arms around my waist.

"I want to sit with you at this meal!" He stated, not really giving me an option as he hopped into the only available seat next to me, which so happened to be Kurama's (because Mo-mo was sitting on my other side). Kurama didn't seem to be so pleased; he walked into the tented off area with a troubled expression, which only deepened when he saw is spot was filled. I smiled at him though, waving slightly; I knew that if something was bothering him, he'd tell me, right? I was kind of surprised and hurt when I hardly got a similar response; he gave me a quick smile (which didn't seem to meet his eyes) and took a seat between Hiei and Yomi.

That meal was quiet, and awkward, and as soon as it was finished I excused myself; surely a walk would clear up this weird feeling I had growing in my stomach.

"I'll come with you!" Shura shouted, jumping up in time with Kurama who slowly sank back into his seat. With a chuckled, I ruffled the child's hair, and explained that his help would probably be needed in the kitchen.

"You know how much work everybody does; why don't you help them out a bit, please." I smiled, happy that the boy eagerly agreed and shot out of the tent, hopefully in the direction of the wash pots. "If you'll excuse me." I said, smiling to our host and Kurama, before sending one of my childish grins to Mo-mo, and leaving the tent.

Thankfully, it was a nice night; one of the things I loved about the demon plane was that you could see the stars, almost anywhere you were. Although there were clouds pushing in, and I could sense that it was going to rain, I didn't think much of it as I walked forwards into the trees. I sighed, not sure what was bothering me so much. Sure Kurama and I hadn't spent much time together since we arrived at the camp; Yomi had been keeping Kurama quite busy and Shura had been clinging to me as if I were his mother, but surely that didn't mean anything, right?

A low sigh left my lips before I froze; I could hear familiar voices nearby, and so I made a small butterfly of ice; sending it flitting out into the clearing and landing it on a nearby flower as I continued walking. With this, I could listen in on the conversation without getting caught. Finding a smooth rock I sat down, closing my eyes, and tunnelled my consciousness into the small spy which I had planted.

Immediately the clearing came into view(although slightly distorted), Kurama and Shura standing in the middle.

"She's going to marry father and be my mom!" Shura argued out, glaring down Kurama who's cool eyes unnerved me quite a bit.

"Don't you think you're being quite selfish?" He stated, glaring down on the boy as he picked a nearby flower, twirling it around in his fingers before it grew, sharpening into something that semi-resembled a throwing knife.

"How do you know? You've seen it! She likes being with me! She even picked me over you -!" Shura argued, his aura rising as well. I growled slightly, the wind cutting off the end of the sentence so that I couldn't hear it.

"I do believe you took my place, in that situation." Kurama stated, his voice as cold as ever.

"Well, you should have been there! At least I don't leave her alone all the time!" Shura's aura formed into light spheres, fixed around his hands.

'This can't be good.' I thought with a sigh, as I stood from my stone and walked, nearly blindly, to the clearing, keeping as quiet as I could as I continued to listen in on the conversation.

"That also seems to be your doing; your father confined that you've been having him keep me busy?" Kurama asked, more than stated, clenching his hand around the plant which fell in pieces to the ground. Shura simply growled, lunging at Kurama who stepped out of the way, knocking him off to the side with his hand. Shura slid back through the clearing, growling in anger before he lunged at Kurama again. I gave up watching then, allowing my little spy to melt away as I ran towards the clearing.

"Stop!" I shouted out as I ran into the clearing, "What is this about?"

A loud yelp rang out from Shura who, caught off guard, fell short on his attack and crashed into the ground. Kurama simply looked away, shoving his hands into his pockets; although not before I noticed the familiar rose grasped between his fingers.

"This is ridiculous, I have no clue as to _what_ you're bickering about, but whatever it is, it's stupid." I scolded, crossing my arms as I frowned at both of them. "Kurama, I don't care how strong he is, Shura is a child and you have better patience than that, I _know _it! Shura!" I barked out, turning my angry gaze to him, "Kurama is a guest under your father's orders, are you going to go as far as to not only shun your father's words, but to embarrass him as well as yourself?" I moved my arms to my hips, "Now what in the world is going on here? You _both_ know better!" Before Shura could even think of a response, Kurama spoke out.

"You're right. I apologise for interrupting your walk, and Shura, I apologise for my behaviour." Before anybody could respond to the formal apology, Kurama took off, disappearing instantly into the woods.

"Kurama!" I called out, but my arm was grabbed by Shura, who looked up at me with sadness and remorse.

"I'm sorry." He mumbled out, "But… Let's go back to camp, okay?" he said, after a pause. With a sigh I crouched down again, looking him in the eye.

"I'd like to go and look for Kurama for a bit, why don't you go back without me, okay? I promise I'll be back soon enough; he can't be too hard to find."I smiled, not noticing as he bit his lip and looked away, rejection on his face. "Go on; run along, I promise I'll be back before you go to bed." I smiled, turning and walking in the direction that Kurama had gone in.

"Kurama!" I called out as I trotted forwards; frowning as I came into another clearing. Spotting Mo-mo and Hiei I ran forwards. "Have you guys seen or sensed Kurama come through here? He just sorta, ran off… I can't find him." Mo-mo shook her head and Hiei clicked his tongue in a condescending gesture.

"Lovers' quarrel?" He asked, earning a very pissed off glare from me.

"Mind your mouth, midget." I growled, taking off again, although I heard them get back to sparing rather quickly.

Eventually I sat down by a river which I had come upon, groaning out in distress and disappointment.

"Where _is_ he?" I asked, gasping in surprise as Kurama's aura suddenly appeared behind me. "There you are!" I said, a happy smile darting to my face as I got up and walked towards him. Seeming rather sullen, he offered no greeting or anything even remotely close. "What's wrong?" I asked, frowning as worry darted to my face again; he looked as if somebody had died, or something.

"How do you see Yomi?" He asked, as I approached him. Well that as unexpected.

"Well, I don't really know him. All I know is that you used to know him, and you're always busy with him now. If I were to say I have an opinion, I'd have to say it's I dislike him because he's been taking all your time since we got here." I mumbled, frowning down at my feet as I looked up to Kurama again; where was he going with this?

"And Shura?" he asked, crossing his arms as he made eye contact and held it.

"Well, I think he's cute and all; he is a kid after all, and I love children, but that's really it." I said, frowning. After a pause I spoke again, "I think that he needs, or at least needed, somebody to teach him some moral guidelines; it's quite obvious his father's ever only taught him the morals of battle, and not daily interactions." I added, crossing my arms as I watched Kurama curiously. "Why?"

"You two seem to get along well."

"Well," I said, my frown deepening, "He's a child, and I usually get along well with kids. Where are you going with this, Kurama?"

"Nowhere." He said, shrugging as he looked away from me.

"Kurama, are you… jealous?" I asked, turning my head to watch his face as he twitched slightly. "You _are_ jealous!" I accused, immediately breaking into laughter as I fell to the ground. He turned to frown at me as I continued to giggle; he obviously didn't find this as amusing as I did. "What?" I asked, getting myself half composed, "He's a little kid, and you feel threatened!" I giggled out, only to hear a surprisingly angry sigh.

"You're being irrational." Kurama practically growled, clearly not appreciating me teasing him. I paused to stick my tongue out at him, crossing my arms immaturely and backing up a little closer to the water.

"Well," I countered, "You're being a hot-head!"

"What?" Kurama frowned, caught off guard by my blunt insult.

"You heard me." I muttered, turning my head to the side (although I still kept my eyes on him). "Maybe you need to cool off a bit!" Without moving I sent a few litres of water flying at Kurama, pulling it from the river behind me. Of course he dodged, but I brought it around from behind and soaked him from the back. "Better?" I asked, raising an eyebrow as I turned to face him again.

I frowned as he walked forward, a seemingly innocent smile on his face. _Why is he smiling? Oh SHIT he is smiling! NOT GOOD!_ Ran through my mind as I stepped back, almost falling into the river.

"I do believe it is _you_ who has the hot head, here." Kurama stated, his voice sugar coated (although that couldn't overpower the dark tones behind it).

"Now let's not do anything irrational, okay..?" I asked more than said as he continued to walk towards me, "Kurama?" Suddenly he lunged at me, tackling me into the water with a mighty shove. Instinctively, I reached out and grabbed him by the cuff of the shirt and pulling him in with me. A peel of laughter rang out as we resurfaced, me clinging to him in an attempt to not drown in my giggling fits.

"I cannot believe you just did that!" I gasped out, trying to control myself. Soon, though, we were both laughing in our struggles for shore. When we finally got there we dragged each other out of the water with great difficulty.

"Well that was refreshing." I giggled, smiling over at Kurama who finally returned the gesture. Suddenly a wind blew through the clearing, sending shivers through my body. "Well that's chilly." I muttered, frowning as I wrapped my arms around myself.

"We had better head back soon, before you catch a cold." Kurama mused, smiling down at me as I grabbed his hand and began to tug forward, wanting him to walk faster so I could change into some dry clothes.

"You could get sick, too!" I argued, not wanting to appear so defenceless that a small bug would get me. With a chuckle Kurama just shook his head, not bothering to argue.

While we were walking back we didn't really say much, content to just be in each other's company for the time being. Of course, others didn't feel the same. A low 'che' came from behind us, the familiar tone coming from everybody's favourite midget.

"Hello Hiei." I borderline growled, worried about the consequences of my earlier insult and the current situation.

"So you made up, stupid cat?" He asked as I turned around to face him. From there a glaring contest ensued; nobody said a word. Finally we turned away, effectively agitated and annoyed.

"Mo-mo, we're leaving." Hiei growled turning on his heal and walking in the opposite direction without waiting for a reply. After an awkward goodbye, Mo-mo followed after him. After a pause and a sigh Kurama and I continued on our way towards the small camp.

* * *

**Yuki apologizes for yet another delay XD But both us are rather busy these days. I, for one, have two portfolios due very soon. Tis very stressful and time consuming -_-**

**Hope you enjoyed TNH ^^**


	64. Chapter 64

***MO-MO'S POV***

Hiei and I walked in silence for the most part. Conversation had pretty much been exhausted since he decided to start a daily training routine. Besides the fact that Hiei is antisocial to begin with, there just wasn't anything to talk about. Not that I particularly cared. Hiei and I have known each other long enough for the silence to be considered normal. In fact, I kind of liked the quiet and I'm sure Hiei did too. That way you didn't have to pretend to be interested in every little thing people had to say. Then again, there seemed to be something going on between Fai and Kurama which had something to do with Yomi and Shura. Now _that_ would have been interesting.

Of course, I couldn't help but be a little curious as to where we were headed. I had tried to ask Hiei when we left, but he just sighed and said it was a long trip. I didn't want to nag, so I've kept quiet up until this point, but he really should tell me! Unless, of course, he didn't have a specific destination in mind and was just trying to get away from the rest of the gang. However, I quickly dismissed that thought since there would be no reason for him to keep that a secret from me, and it seemed as though we were on a steady course.

"So, hey. Care to tell me where we're headed?" I asked casually.

"Well..." Hiei started with hesitation. "I need to go see someone, that's all."

"Oh?" I asked, pleased that he was finally talking. "Who, an old friend?"

"Something like that..." Hiei replied.

I sighed, but gave up. Hiei used to live in the Demon Plane, so it was probably someone he knew from that time. That said, I wouldn't know who it was anyway.

Suddenly, I felt the presence of several people up a head. Hiei caught sight of them sooner than I did, and stopped walking. Within seconds a group of about five people approached us. They all seemed pretty normal – by human terms, mind you – although they were unusually beautiful. Their skin was extremely pale and smooth and their eyes were piercing. They almost seemed perfect, though for some reason something seemed familiar.

"Vampires..." Hiei muttered tensely. So that was it; these guys were like Yuki and Kirane. Although, as they got closer to us something about their aura, and overall demeanour seemed different from the vampires I had come to know.

"Hello, dere." One of them said with a heavy German accent as he stepped towards us. This one had golden blond hair and pure blue eyes that seemed to pierce right through us as.

"Um... Hi." I replied, while Hiei stood quiet and emotionless.

"Ah, I recognize you..." The German vampire continued. "You're de one Prince Yuki haz taken an interest in... Vich means dat you must be de fire demon Hiei."

"Who the hell are you, and how do you know who we are?" Hiei demanded.

"Dere is no need for dat tone. My name is Heinrich, and I am de leader of de Changed vampires." The man said with a slight bow. Hiei and I stood, speechless, wondering what he meant by 'changed' vampires. "De princes, Yuki und Kirane have many pictures of you und de oder one. Dey... never stop talking about you."

"Okay..." I muttered, slightly creeped out.

"So what are _vampires_ doing in these lands?" Hiei challenged. "You know damn well who rules here."

"Ah, yes. Ve had a... business proposition for de bitch queen. But, sadly, she vas not interested." Heinrich sighed. However, for a brief moment, his face twisted into a slight smirk. "Perhaps, sometime, you two vould be interested in vat ve have to say."

"I doubt it." Hiei replied coldly.

"Of course. After all, judging by de vay you two are traveling, it seems dat you are headed over dere now."

"That's none of your business." Hiei said. "Now get out of here."

"Vatever." Heinrich shrugged. "Ve have oder tings to do." The vampire then nodded to the others and they walked past us, disappearing into the forest.

"Well, that was kind of random." I muttered. Of course the only question remaining is who this 'bitch queen' is. If I had to guess... "Hiei. Are we going to see Mukuro?"

"Oh... Yeah." Hiei replied timidly. I brought my elbow down hard on Hiei's head causing him to cry out in pain. "OW! WHAT THE HELLWAS THAT FOR!"

"IDIOT! Why couldn't you just say so from the start?" I shouted. "It's not like I have problem with it, or anything."

"Look, it's just... a little awkward, okay?" Hiei stuttered.

"Yeah, well it would have been even more awkward when we get there." I sighed. "Whatever the case, let's just get over there."

In truth, I was kind of excited. It's common knowledge that Mukuro is a total badass, and it would be fun to meet her. Mukuro sounded like someone I could get along with, if not for our shared bloodlust.

In a few hours we made it to the mobile fortress that Mukuro owned. It was this ridiculously huge thing that looked like a bug. Thankfully, it was stationary at the moment, so we could approach it easily. There were demons guarding the entrance, but as soon as they saw Hiei, they let us through without trouble. However, they gave me some weird glances as we passed. In fact, it was like that for every demon we passed through the long, dark hallways. There was no question that it was because I was human. Shortly, we arrived at the door to a room, which I could only assume was where Mukuro was.

"Here we are." Hiei said as he tried to maintain a calm demeanour. "When you meet her, let me do most of talking, okay?"

"Sure, why not." I complied. There was no point in being difficult at this point. Judging by the way the demons were looking at me, I'd say that whether or not Mukuro likes me ultimately decides what everyone else's opinion will be.

Suddenly, the door opened all by itself. "Come on in. I've been waiting for you." The female voice that echoed out was authoritative yet oddly laid back at the same time.

Hiei began to walk inside, and I followed suit. The room was dark and empty, for the most part. The only furnishing was at the far end, where a woman laid back on a rather comfortable looking cushioned chair. She had shoulder length hair that was a pale orange and her one natural eye was blue. The other eye was mechanic, as was half her body. She glared at us with a slight smirk on her face, though I see a mix of curiosity in her face as she stared at me.

"Well, it's about time you returned to the demon plane, Hiei." Mukuro said. "It's good to see you again."

"Whatever." Hiei said. "The human world was excruciatingly boring, so I figured I'd see if anything interesting is going on here." I twitched at his comment, but decided to let it slide this once. He'd get payback later, anyways.

Mukuro chuckled at Hiei's immaturity, and then turned her gaze to me. "I see you brought a snack with you. I hope you'll share her with the rest of us."

Hiei and I tensed up in unison. I had forgotten that Mukuro was a demon of the human devouring kind.

"She's not food." Hiei said simply.

"Oh?" Mukuro said as a curious smile played on her lips. "Then why is she here?"

"Um... That is..." Hiei stuttered hesitantly.

"What? Is she you're girlfriend, or something?" Mukuro scoffed sarcastically.

Hiei flinched. "Well, no, I wouldn't say-" Once again my elbow met his head in a painful manner, cutting off his moment of denial.

"I swear, you're almost as bad as Fai." I growled at the fire demon who was now rubbing his head giving me a 'what the hell are you doing' glare. Mukuro, on the other hand, could do nothing but stare in bewilderment. I straightened myself up and turned towards her. "Hi, my name is Mo-mo. Nice to meet you, Mukuro." I said politely. "Sorry about the idiot spewing bullshit over here."

"It's cool. I'm used to it." Mukuro said casually. "So, what, you two are actually together?"

"Yeah, pretty much." I said. Hiei was still shooting me looks, begging me to stop there.

"I see." Mukuro said softly as she closed her eyes and fell silent. For several minutes it was completely silent in the room. Both Hiei and I were waiting for Mukuro to give some sort of reaction, but nothing came.

"Hey... Is something wrong?" Hiei asked cautiously.

Mukuro opened her eyes slightly, and displayed a very disturbing expression on her face. It was almost as though she was warning me not to get on her bad side without using any words. "There's nothing wrong." She said in a soft, almost hypnotic voice. "Though, I'm getting a little tired, so take your human girl and leave. I'll see you both later."

"Whatever." Hiei shrugged. With that, he and I left Mukuro's room.

* * *

"Well, _that_ could have gone better." Hiei said as we sat in a bedroom inside the fortress. There was a small bed, which I had claimed, and Hiei was sitting against one of the walls.

"No thanks to you." I grumbled.

"What was that?" Hiei burst out defensively.

"You know, lying to someone you haven't seen in a while isn't exactly to best way to conduct a reunion." I said harshly. "I mean, isn't she psychic or something?"

"Telepathic." Hiei corrected with equal harshness. "And in case you haven't noticed, people around here aren't particularly eager to have a human they can't eat hanging around. If they find out we're close, they won't like it!"

"Who cares what people think? If you try to hide the truth, it makes you look even worst!" I retorted.

"Feh! There's no point in arguing any further. It's too late anyway." Hiei said with an edge to his voice. He'd lost this argument, and he knew it.

"In any case, what's the plan now?" I asked. "Are we sticking around, or should we head out? Call me crazy, but I think Mukuro might be out to get me." That thought sent shivers down my spine. Mukuro was definitely someone I didn't want as an enemy. Besides being powerful, she was smart. If she really wanted me gone, it would be precise, unexpected, and probably very painful.

"Yeah, that was definitely wasn't the ideal first impression." Hiei muttered. "But in any case, we should stay here for the time being. If we just run away, then it'll make things worse. Besides, they have good training facilities here."

"Whatever you say." I sighed as I fell back on the bed, and closed my eyes.

* * *

The next day, Hiei and I got back to our usual training regime. The training areas were rather nice, if not a little creepy at the same time, but then again so was this entire fortress. Not that I was complaining; I love the whole dark and mysterious feel. I _was_, however, a little peeved by the fact that demons seemed to be constantly watching me. Even though they were hiding, I could still pick up traces of their presence, which meant that they weren't doing a very good job since my senses certainly aren't top-notch. Eventually, one of them approached us.

"Hello, Hiei. Having fun with your toy?" A demon, whom I didn't know, mocked. He was very tall, and built like a warrior. He also wore heavy armour, which included a helmet to cover most of his face.

"Go to hell, Kirin." Hiei replied with a dangerous edge to his voice.

"Hmph. I see _someone _hasn't changed at all." Kirin scoffed. "Besides that, why are you wasting time training this weak little thing. Shouldn't you be more focused on your own strength?"

"What I do is none of your business." Hiei replied with the same tone. Though, Kirin didn't seem to get the hint that his presence wasn't wanted. Either that or he was simply ignoring it.

"Hm..." Kirin muttered, clearly trying to figure out what Hiei was thinking. Suddenly his eyes widened, as if he had an epiphany. "Don't tell me you plan on letting this girl enter the tournament!"

Wait, what tournament? I wondered to myself as Hiei stiffened, but made no reply. His lack of response was enough of an answer for Kirin.

"How absurd. Even a talented human wouldn't make it past the preliminaries." Kirin continued, as Hiei began to grit his teeth in agitation.

"I'm sorry, _what_ tournament?" I inferred, attracting the attention of the two demons.

"He hasn't told you yet?" Kirin questioned with disbelief. "Unbelievable. For your information, girl, the time has come again to decide who the supreme ruler of demon world will be. This will be done through a world-wide tournament. _Apparently_ anyone can participate."

"Huh. Sounds like fun." I said.

"Don't get ahead of yourself." Kirin said. "You're not that powerful." I scowled at him, and considered giving him a taste of my death powers. _Then_ we'd see who was really powerful.

"If you're done acting pretentious, can you please LEAVE." Hiei growled.

"Not just yet." Kirin said. "You and I need to have a talk in private."

"About what?" Hiei asked sceptically.

"Just get your ass moving." Kirin said as he began to walk away. Clearly he was losing his patience.

Hiei sighed in submission. "Go wait in your room, just to be safe. I'll come get you when I'm done with this guy."

"Sure." I replied simply as Hiei left. It was kind of annoying how he felt that I need to be watched over. Though I guess this place _is_ filled with powerful demons.

I walked back to my room, if only to avoid the stares of demons watching me from the shadows. It was definitely not a pleasant feeling. For some reason I felt more secure being completely surrounded by walls. The quiet was nice, as was actually being alone. I lay down on the bed and stared at the black, empty ceiling. My mind wandered to the tournament. I wasn't really angry with Hiei for not telling me about it. If anything, it was typical of him. Though, I wasn't too sure if entering would be a good idea. After all, it's not like I had any aspiration to rule demon world. In fact, I wasn't concerned at all with their politics. If I did end up joining, it would only be for the fighting experience, and that's alright, isn't it? I mean, it's not like I would actually win.

"Good to see you're finally alone." A voice echoed out.

"HUH?" I exclaimed, jumping off the bed and into a fighting position. I hadn't been expecting to be interrupted so soon. Much to my surprise, Mukuro was the one standing in my room.

"Sorry to bother you like this, but you didn't seem to be doing anything important." Mukuro said with a playful, yet sadistic smile playing on her lips.

"Um, no, it's fine." I replied. I wasn't even going to ask how the hell she got inside my room.

"Truth is, I've been meaning to have a one-on-one talk with you, but it's been a little difficult to catch you without Hiei hanging around." Mukuro explained. "You don't mind if we talk now, do you?"

I shrugged my shoulders indifferently. "Sure, why not." On the inside, I was getting a little nervous. There was something about Mukuro's demeanour that said she wasn't here to make friends.

"I heard about what happened with Spirit World." Mukuro said. "According to my sources, you, Hiei and the rest of your merry band of misfits are here because you're trying to hide from Spirit World. The rumours, however, were very vague about _why_ Spirit World was so desperate to get their hands on you. Care to elaborate?"

Crap. What do I say? _Oh, by the way I have a power that can kill anything I want, and on top of that I'm participating in the tournament to decide who rules your world._ Somehow, I didn't think Mukuro – or anyone in Demon World – would take that well.

"You're not feeling talkative? That's fine." Mukuro said as she suddenly appeared in front of me and placed her hand on my forehead. I could feel her subconscious entering mine, prying through the thoughts and memories inside of my head. I was reminded of the time we were captured by Serafin, but this was different. Mukuro was much more powerful than him. I couldn't move my body; I couldn't even _try_ to force her out. She was in my mind, and she wasn't leaving until she got what she wanted.

Finally, I felt her pull away. "I see. So, King Enma finally shows his true colors." Mukuro said with a slight chuckle. "Although, I never imagined someone like you could possess such a unique power."

"It's not like I asked for it." I said in a feeble sort of defence.

"Hm, perhaps _this_ is why Hiei's bothered with a seemingly worthless human like you." Mukuro speculated.

"No, he admitted he liked me long before I found out about this power!" I said, becoming extremely defensive.

"Well, in any case," Mukuro continued, the sadistic smile returning. "I don't think I can allow a human with this sort of power to run freely. However, you are someone of importance to Hiei, so for now I will give you a warning..." Mukuro said as she walked up and looked me directly in the eyes. I could practically see the bloodlust swirling around in her one good eye, and even though she was a few inches shorter than me, her presence seemed towering and threatened to crush me. "_If you dare to use this power against me or my men, I guarantee you will regret it. I've seen inside you mind, so I know you cannot control it perfectly, and if you threaten me I will exploit __**every single**__ weakness you have. Is that clear?_"

"H-hey, there's no need to talk like that..." I muttered, genuinely afraid now. "If you've been in my mind, then you know I would never use it without a good reason. Besides, if you kill me, I doubt Hiei would ever trust you again."

"Whoever said kill?" Mukuro replied with a mocking tone as she began to circle me. "I could, perhaps, just take parts of your body. An arm, a leg... I'm sure you would taste quite good."

"Um... What do humans taste like, anyway?"

Mukuro stood silent. The expression on her face had drastically changed; it dropped to something along the lines of confusion, bewilderment, or just pure lack of comprehension. "I'm sorry, what?" She asked suddenly.

"O-oh, nothing, I just... spoke without thinking." I stuttered nervously. "It's just that you were putting a lot of stress on me, and I wasn't thinking straight, and when you talked about eating me I wondered what people taste like. I mean, it's not like I can just go to a restaurant and be like, 'Hi, I'll have cannibal dish #1 please.' Cause, yeah... That's just... Yeah..."

Mukuro continued to stand still as if frozen, with her unsure eyes locked onto me. It was really awkward, to say the least. Then, totally out of nowhere, she started laughing. It was a deep maniacal laughter that only got louder as it continued. This time it was my turn to be puzzled. What was so funny about what I said? Eventually, Mukuro forced herself to stop laughing, though she was left panting. She looked over at my dumbfounded expression and had to restrain more laughter.

"I... I'm sorry..." I muttered, really unsure of what else I should say.

"There's no need to apologize." Mukuro said as she regained her composure. "It's just the first time I've heard a human say something like that."

"Oh, okay." I said, still not really grasping what just happened.

"I take back what I said before. You're much more interesting than you appear to be." Mukuro said as she turned to leave. "See you around."

"Bye...?" I muttered in response. Seriously, what the hell just happened?

* * *

The next day, it was back to training. I couldn't bring myself to tell Hiei about Mukuro's weird visit, and he didn't seem to want to tell me about his private chat with Kirin. Fair's fair, I guess. Sadly, not much had changed at all. Demons were still lurking in every corner, keeping an eye on me, and Hiei kept up with our usual training routine.

"What's going on over here?" Mukuro said, suddenly appearing near us.

"We're just training." Hiei scowled, clearly displeased by the intrusion. I didn't know what to think. We'd been here several days now, training in the same spots, and not once has Mukuro bothered us up until this point.

"_You're_ training her?" Mukuro asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Yeah, what of it?" Hiei retorted defensively.

"Ha! What a joke. This certainly won't do." Mukuro said as she walked over to me. "Girl, you said your name is Mo-mo, right?" I nodded. "I can't allow to train with this second-rate thief, you'll get nowhere. Come with me and I'll actually teach you how to fight."

"Really? That'd be awesome!" I exclaimed.

"I'm sorry, _what_?" Hiei demanded.

"I said I'm taking Mo-mo for training." Mukuro explained. "It's the only way she'll have any chance in the tournament."

"Yeah, and who am I to turn down training with a _King of Demon World_!" I said with enthusiasm. "This is going to be great!"

"WHAT?" Hiei exclaimed, as if his mind had just exploded. "YOU'RE taking Mo-mo to trai – Wait, YOU'RE ditching me for Mukuro? WHAT THE HELL'S GOING ON AROUND HERE!"

"Just focus on your own training." Mukuro said as she put her half mechanical arm over my shoulders in a friendly gesture and started pulling me away.

"See ya around, Hiei!" I called back to the poor guy who do nothing but stare in shock as we left him alone.

"Hey, Mo-mo..." Mukuro said. "If you get lucky and win the tournament, you'll let me in on the ruling part, won't you?"

"Um... I'll think about it..." I replied awkwardly. I honestly didn't think I was going to win anyway.

"That's a good human." Mukuro cooed, as if speaking to a pet.

* * *

**S-see, that didn't take too long... did it? **

**Well, the good news is, all the scary portfolios are done, and I can start to focus on writing again :) I LOVE Mukuro, btw! She's just so much fun. And is it just me, so do a lot of people seem to forget that she noms humans? Well, I thought it would a fun trait to play off :P Hope you enjoyed the chapter :D**


	65. Chapter 65

***AIYOKU FAIYUKI'S POV***

By the time Kurama and I had made it back to the camp he had managed to deter the majority of my anger from Hiei. Settling with an annoyed huff I waited impatiently for Kurama to catch up. When we entered the camp we were immediately pounced on by Shura.

"I've decided!" He yelled out, glaring at Kurama as he crossed his arms, "I'm gunna enter the tournament and become King of the Demon World so Fai **has **to marry Dad!" With a chuckle Yomi appeared beside his son, which only raised my irritation. If the stories about Yomi's hearing were true, then he'd know about the little scene in the clearing, which meant that he wasn't exactly against the idea. "And," Shura continued, breaking my line of thought, "Dad agreed too!"

This caused both Kurama and I to do a double take. Yomi not only knew of this, but he was _allowing it to happen?_ That was so not funny.

"Yomi…" Kurama borderline growled, his voice ringing with an unspoken warning.

"Come on, it will be fun." Yomi responded in a teasing tone, "Just like the old times, but instead of a jewel we'll be racing to see who can steal your girlfriend." He chuckled.

"Do I not get _any_ say in this?" I objected, stalking forward as I put my hands on my hips. "Last I checked I was a creature with a strain of thought too!" It's not that I didn't trust Kurama to win… It was just that I trusted Yomi not to lose; he was once a God of the Demon world, it was simply supercilious to assume that he would lose so easily to Kurama, or go against his word after everything was said and done.

I could sense Kurama's discomfort behind me; he was obviously having a hard time. On one hand, he could reject the offer, but it was unlikely that Shura would just leave it at that, on the other hand he could accept and risk losing me. Again. Seriously, why was I _**always**_ the prizes for these things? With a groan I threw my arms up in an 'I give up' gesture and stomped away. They could figure it out; it wasn't like anybody besides Kurama would give two hoots about what I say anyways. I twitched when I could hear Yomi chuckling behind me, and walked faster.

I don't know how far I walked or for how long. My mind was continuously mulling over what had just happened, and no matter how I looked at things they were unfair and infuriating. I decided to find a comfortable tree and take a nap. I looked around, climbed a rather large tree, and closed my eyes.

"Allo." A rather monotonous female voice was directed at my perch in a tree, "Vell vat do ve has here?" I practically fell, caught off guard by the heavy Russian accent.

"Who the hell are you?" I growled out, narrowing my eyes at the darkly skinned woman with long white hair and dark brown eyes.

"I vud bay Tatyana. Ze pleasure is mine." She replied back coolly, her voice still relatively flat in pitch. "And oo are?" I narrowed my eyes as I jumped off my branch and landed in front of her, noticing immediately that she was taller than me by a few inches.

"My name is Fai." I stated, crossing my arms, "Well, what do you want?" Something about this woman smelt familiar, but I couldn't quite place it.

"Vell, your blood is one zing, and oo are ze ozer." Tatyana said allowing a smile to roll onto her lips to reveal a set of sharp fangs.

"You are seriously kidding me." I frowned, almost breaking into tears. "No. More. Vampires." I growled, before turning to leave. I was stopped, however, when she grabbed my arm. "Move it or lose it." I growled impatiently, my anger only rising further when she raised a sceptical eyebrow at me. I yanked hard against her grip, only to whiplash back into her, giving her the chance to wrap her arms around me and grip me close to her, leaving me unable to escape.

I tensed, glaring over my shoulder as Tatyana pressed her lips against my neck. I could feel the prick of two fangs just into the skin of my neck, and I yelped out in surprise.

"What, do you have a death wish? Demon blood is poison to vampires!" I shouted, pulling away as much as I could; it wasn't much.

"Vell, maybay for fullbluds. For halfbluds it eez more like ze heaven on ze earth." She smiled, going in for a full bite.

"WAIT!" I almost cried as a familiar voice rang out, halting the vampire in her tracks. A muttered breath, most likely a curse, brushed past my neck as she placed a kiss on my cheek (much to my discontent), grabbed my hand, and then swiped the ring from Kurama off of it.

"Vell then, because ve vere so rudely interrupted, I vill have to have my fun later." She said, smirking at Kurama before she disappeared.

"Well then…" I muttered, before I walked unsteadily towards Kurama, "I have decided that I dislike Murphy as much as he dislikes me." Kurama chuckled with a sweatdrop, walking up and wrapping an arm possessively around me.

"Are you okay?" He mumbled, looking at me with a worried expression. I nodded my head, frowning at my now empty finger.

"We're going to have to get that back off of her, though." I mumbled, looking over as Shura and Yomi walked into the clearing. I put on hand to my neck, covering the almost invisible cuts with a frown before I stalked off, grabbing Kurama's hand and taking him with me. "I'm sorry to have to cut the visit so short, but it seems that Kurama and I have more training to do." I said to Yomi, giving him a head tilt which only his son could see. "We'll see you at the tournament." I added, grumbling as Kurama and I stalked off into the woods. We'd be there for the next few weeks, training my butt off in preparation for the tournament.

* * *

Kurama and I arrived at the tournament, me totally exhausted and haggard and him seemingly unscathed.

"I hate you, have I told you that?" I growled, running my fingers through my short hair with a huff. Kurama simply replied with his usual smile.

I looked around, hoping to find somebody who was familiar and wanted. My eyes lit up as I saw a familiar poof of black hair and Mo-mo. I jumped up, half skipping towards them, not noticing the other figure behind Mo-mo. "MO-MO!" I exclaimed as I jumped onto her, squeezing her very tightly. However, not a second after I had latched onto my best friend, I was swiftly pulled away.

"I'm sorry, but I don't recall giving you permission to touch Mo-mo." Mukuro said to me in a flat, threatening tone as her one eye stared at me.

"Woah, I don't **need** your permission to touch Mo-mo!" I retorted, going into full-out possession mode.

"Is that so?" Mukuro raised an eyebrow. I heard Hiei snort with amusement but decided to ignore him and face the bigger problem.

Mo-mo sighed and stepped between Mukuro and I. "C'mon guys, there's no need to-"

"No, I think we need to clear something up here!" I interrupted, and sent Mukuro a glare.

"Indeed, it seems this feline has missed something." Mukuro said with a confident smirk as she walked up beside Mo-mo. I could see Hiei tense, and Mo-mo twitched with slight surprise, before an awkwardly friendly smile dropped to her face. Mukuro had started _running her fingers through Mo-mo's hair. _

I shot forward, practically tackling Mo-mo in the process, and glared up into the woman's one eye.

"Just **what** do you _think_ you are doing?" I growled, standing possessively between them. Hiei and Mukuro were both quite shocked, and Mo-mo was, well, on the ground with swirly eyes. "That is MY MO-MO! I CLAIMED HER FIRST!" I yelled out, pulling out a pen then grabbing Mo-mo's arm and quickly scrawling my name out on it. "SEE? My NAME is ON IT!"

After a long pause of awkward staring, Mukuro finally said, "You are truly pathetic."

"I don't care what you think; just **stay away** from Mo-mo." I hissed.

"Fai, I think that's enough..." Kurama said with a sweatdrop as he placed a hand on my shoulder.

"Ah, so she's yours." Mukuro said to Kurama. "You should keep your pet on a tighter leash." Again Hiei snorted. Again I ignored him. (That doesn't mean I wouldn't pay him back later...)

"It's good to see you too." Kurama replied politely. He sent a glance to Hiei, but neither said anything.

"Weeeell, would you look at the time!" Mo-mo said loudly as she escaped my grasp and jumped to her feet. "It's great to see you guys, but we've gotta go. Talk to you later!" And without further ado, Mo-mo ran off. Mukuro gave me a condescending glare before following with Hiei.

"Wha... But, Mo-mo..." I stared out with a pathetic look on my face. This day officially sucks.

* * *

**Yeah, yeah, this chapter is a little short... *send hatemail to Fai* Haha, just kidding XD But really, she was so uninspired it was painful. Good thing I'm there :) Oh, and school's over in two weeks! (for me, that it ^^) I can't wait!**

**Anyway, for those of you who might have had a little trouble comprehending the Russian, here is a walk-through:**

**Yes-Da**  
**No-Nyet**  
**Thank you-Spaseeba**  
**Please-Pajalsta**  
**Hello—Allo**  
**a) Russians pronounce English "w" as 'v'**  
**b) English "Th" should be voiced as simply 'z'**  
**c) "R" should be rolled like the Spanish "r"**  
**d) "E" sounds should be voiced more like "ay" in day.**  
**e) "I" is always pronounced like "ee" in beet.**  
**f) When speaking, try to keep it monotone and not so singy like English**  
**g) Russians do not use articles or the word "to" before verbs.**  
**Omit words: "the, a, an, to" from your speech.**  
**h) "H" in Russian is more gutteral like the Spanish 'j'**  
**i) Pronounce "U" as 'oo' in English 'boot'**  
**j) Never use the verb 'to' be. **


	66. Chapter 66

***MO-MO'S POV***

I continued speed walking through the incredibly large, demon-infested building that was to host the second tournament to decide who would rule demon world. It wasn't until I was sure that Fai wasn't following me that I came to a stop. I didn't even know where I had ended up, but Mukuro and Hiei showed up behind me a few seconds later. I sincerely felt bad about ditching my best friend like that, but I really didn't need her and Mukuro to end up as enemies. They were surprisingly alike when it came down to their stubbornness, and I knew for a fact that neither of them would be willing to share me – especially considering how bad their introduction was. The only thing I can do is separate them before they start playing tug-a-war with me.

Suddenly, Hiei started chuckling. "I might actually _look forward_ to seeing the cat if there's going to be another performance like that."

"Shut up!" I snapped at him.

"I have to admit, I'm surprised." Mukuro started, "Hiei warned me that your friend was ridiculously annoying, and I thought it was just another of his exaggerations. But for once, I feel that he understated the situation."

"Please don't do this to me..." I begged, becoming seriously afraid of what Mukuro might do to Fai if the two of them ever got into a heated argument.

"Do what?" Mukuro said with a coy smile.

"Fai is my friend, and you're going to get along with her!" I said in a commanding voice. I immediately regretted saying it – or at least saying it like that. Sure, Mukuro liked me despite the fact that I'm human, but that doesn't mean she'll take orders from me. Now there probably wasn't any way I could convince her to leave Fai alone.

A smirk grew on Mukuro's face, though the look in her eyes kept changing as if she couldn't decide between being amused and being pissed off. "A human is trying to tell me what to do... That's funny." Yep, I'm screwed. Or rather, Fai is. "You see, _nobody_ tells me what to do. I have no reason to cooperate with someone I don't like, even if she is your friend." Mukuro then stepped extremely close to me, and placed her face directly in front of mine. "Of course, I'm not about to waste my time or energy on such an insignificant being, unless she gives me a reason to. So go tell her to stay out of my way." With that, Mukuro spun around and walked away.

I could only stare with relief. Somehow I had convinced Mukuro to let Fai live, if only for the time being. Hiei, however, was staring with pure awe.

"I **really** want to know how you made her like you." He said.

I sighed. "As I've explained, I don't have a friggin' clue."

It was just about time for the preliminaries of the tournament to be organized, so Hiei and I began walking to the waiting area for competitors. It was full of demons waiting to find out which group they would be fighting in, and most of them seemed eager to spill some blood. In a few minutes we stumbled upon Yusuke and Kuwabara.

"Mo-mo! Hiei!" Yusuke exclaimed with a big grin as we approached. "Man, it's been way too long since we've seen you guys. How've you been?"

"Pretty good." I replied. Hiei said nothing, but rather shrugged as a response. "How about you guys?"

"We've been training our butts off!" Kuwabara exclaimed loudly. "And get ready to lose cause we've become super powerful!"

"I see you haven't lost your illusions of stupidity." Hiei scoffed.

"SHUT UP HALF-PINT!" Kuwabara yelled back. "You know I really didn't miss you at all while we were separated."

"I don't care." Hiei replied, causing Kuwabara to clench his fists in frustration.

Suddenly a familiar voice sounded over some form of demonic loud speakers. _"Ladies and Gentlemen, welcome to the second worldwide Makai Tournament! As most of you already know, my name is Koto and I will be this year's announcer. But I'm not alone; allow me to introduce my co-host Daisuke!"_ Loud fan-girl squeals erupted from the audience, as Daisuke – the incredibly good looking dog demon who announced at the Ice Pearl Tournament - joined Koto on the announcer's stand.

"_Thank you Koto, for this wonderful opportunity."_ Daisuke said as he let out a smile, displaying his shining white teeth. _"But before we begin this exciting tournament, isn't there something that needs to be said first?"_

"_Absolutely! Daisuke and I have some very good news, although the majority of the female audience probably won't think so,"_ Koto said as she winked. _"Daisuke and I have started dating! That's right fan-girls, this puppy is all mine!"_

With that, there was a mixed response of cheers and whistles from the fans that supported them, and cries of 'boo's from the jealous fan-girls.

"_Now that that's settled," _Daisuke continued. _"We will now proceed to the commencement of the Makai Tournament!"_

"_That's right, ladies and gentlemen; soon the moment you have all been waiting for will come! So I will ask that all competitors now make your way to the waiting area so the preliminaries can begin!"_

We stared, speechless. It was good to know they were both doing well, but... _wow_.

* * *

Once all the competitors were assembled and given a number, we waited for the preliminary grouping to begin. It was explained that the format would be the same as the previous tournament; the preliminaries will be a series of group fights, and the winner of each group will proceed to the main event, which is a series of one on one fights.

"Phew, so far none of us are in the same group." Yusuke sighed as we showed each other our group numbers.

"I wonder who we have to fight..." Kuwabara muttered.

"I have an idea," A voice echoed out. We turned to see Yuki, one of the vampire twins, approaching us. He flipped up a small piece of paper that had the number 11 on it.

Suddenly, a wide sadistic smirk grew on Hiei's face. "Hm. So you're in my group."

"That's correct." Yuki said, smirking as well. "And this time I will eliminate you for good, and win Mo-mo's heart."

"It's good to see you haven't changed at all." I muttered sarcastically.

Yuki chuckled, "Don't worry, Mo-mo, you and I will be together soon enough. As for you, midget, I'll see you in the ring." And with that he turned around and left.

"That guy really needs to take a hint." Yusuke sighed.

"Just forget about him," Hiei muttered, still bearing a wide smirk full of bloodlust. "After all, he won't be around for much longer."

* * *

I made my way over to the large, natural stage were my match was to be held. There were supposed to be around twenty people in each group, but I still didn't know who I would be fighting against. I had run into Kurama's boot camp, but none of them were in my group. I arrived at the platform, and so far none of the demons who had already made it there were recognizable. I was actually feeling relieved; since I thought it was better that I wouldn't have to fight anyone that I knew right away. Once everyone was gathered, it was time for the match to begin. As I prepared myself with some stretches, I observed my opponents; quite a few of them were over-sized, bearing a variety of horns, claws and fangs. Most of them were obviously excited about the chance to fight, and a few gave looks that made me feel as though they wanted to eat me. As well, there were a few who seemed normal and quite composed – I assumed them to be the more unpredictable opponents.

Finally all the fighters arrived, and Koto sounded out: _"The preliminary fight for Group 7 will now commence! You are eliminated if you are knocked out or killed. BEGIN!"_

With that, our group instantly separated. Most of the demons came after me, probably hoping for an easy kill. A few of them drew weapons while the others attacked with fists or claws. I summoned my scythe, and quickly blocked a sword strike from above. I then jumped back to avoid two demons attacking from my sides. Without missing a beat, I quickly spun around and sliced off the arm of a demon that was in the process of attacking me. As he fell back, temporarily consumed with pain, the rest of them attacked together. From that point, I began acting on impulse; blocking simultaneous attacks from every angle and striking back when I could find openings.

Even though I had been looking forward to a fight, this was starting to get annoying. It wasn't as though I couldn't take these guys on, but I had started to lose interest; it was difficult to do anything other than block, and it was clear that these fighters were only attacking in a group to cover up their own shortcomings. I hadn't been planning on using any of my 'special' powers, but this situation was begging for something more exciting.

I took an opportunity to jump into the air and land a few feet away from the crowd of demons. In order to place some distance between myself and my opponents, I started running.

"Hey, what's the matter human? Scared?" The demons started shouting at me.

"Not really." I smirked as I skidded to a stop, and began to focus. I summoned my black aura and spread it though the battle field where my opponents had begun charging towards me. Suddenly the ground cracked, and a hand with rotted skin and exposed bones emerged.

"What the hell?" The demons exclaimed as many more decrepit hands crawled out, pulling the rest of their body with them. The demons' faces were contorted with shock and confusion as they faced around twenty-five moaning zombies.

"Sorry, but you guys aren't any fun to fight." I said in a mocking tone as I casually took a seat on a rock. "I'll just let my _friends_ handle you."

"You human bitch! We're not afraid of your weak zombies!" One of the demons shouted out as he charged forward and lopped off the head of one of my minions. Usually a decapitation would be the end of a zombie, but since these ones were being controlled by my aura, it was unaffected and the corpse continued to move. The headless zombie, along with many of the others, grabbed the demon and began grabbing him, tearing off chunks of flesh, and biting into him. Within seconds the demon was a dead, bloody mess.

The other demons could only stare with blank expressions as my zombie minions finished up with the one demon and then turned their attention to the others. Blood was spattered all over the zombies' faces and hands, and they began to slowly trudge towards the demons. The carcass of the freshly slaughtered demon then stood up as well, and joined my small army of the un-dead.

"Hey, wait... If we get killed then we become one of those things?" One of the demons exclaimed.

"Duh." I replied with a wide smirk. "That's why it's called a _zombie apocalypse_." With that, my zombie spawn sprung forward, powered by my aura, and began attacking the demons. It was an instant eruption of blood and body parts. The zombies tore and ripped viciously at the demons skin and body parts. The demons tried to fight back, by slicing away at the zombies, but it was no good. Despite any form of injury done to them, the zombies continued to fight. Within minutes, half of the demons were overpowered and killed, only to rise as zombies themselves.

I couldn't help but smile at the carnage before me. There was something beautiful about the sight of blood being spilt, and the sound of bones being snapped. Thinking about it, I found it hard to believe that I could accomplish so much; a few months ago, all I could do with my 'powers of death' was see ghosts and instantly kill people. Now I could use my powers to create an army of the un-dead. I honestly hadn't planned on using these powers in the tournament. It was kind of cheating. But for this kind of fight it seemed appropriate, and it's not like controlling the zombies is easy – it takes a lot out of my aura, and I'll be pretty exhausted later. Still, it was well worth it.

"W-we can't do this..." One of the remaining demons muttered with fear.

"There's just too many of them..." Another piped up before zombies grabbed and dismembered him.

"FOOLS!" A voice sounded out. Suddenly a force moved through the onslaught, slaying demons and zombies alike by cutting them into small, perfect pieces. In that instant, half of my zombie army was taken out and all of the demons were killed. On top of that, the pieces were too small to be animated by my aura. "Such weaklings... Allowing themselves to be overtaken by this disgusting display." The man who spoke was tall, with dark shoulder-length hair and extremely pale skin.

"Who are you?" I demanded.

"My name is Langor, and I am one of the changed vampires." The very beautiful, but dangerous man replied.

"Changed... Sounds familiar..." I muttered as I fell into thought. "Where have I heard that before?"

The vampire sighed at my density. "You had the honour of meeting our leader, Heinrich, a few months earlier. Don't you remember? He has a thick accent... "

"Maybe...?" I said. "What's your point?"

"THE POINT!" Langor exclaimed loudly. "Is that our most honourable leader wants you to join us!"

"Yeah, I don't think so." I replied bluntly.

"Silence! I'm not finished yet!" Langor continued as a vein popped on his forehead. "Recruiting can wait until after this tournament concludes. For now I am going to teach you a lesson... I will make you pay for using those abominations in this tournament..."

"What, you mean the zombies?" I said as I raised an eyebrow.

"EXACTLY!" The vampire shouted. "I REFUSE TO ALLOW FILTH LIKE THAT TO CONTINUE WALKING THE EARTH! THEY ARE NOTHING BUT DISGUSTING, SLOW, STUPID PIECES OF TRASH THAT ARE CLEARLY INFERRIOR TO THE EXISTANCE OF US VAMPIRES!"

"Who cares? Right now I'd rather be surrounded by zombies than listen to you drone on." I retorted.

"You dare say that zombies are better than vampires?" Langor said through gritted teeth, though it looked like he was about to explode. "YOU WILL REGRET YOUR FOOLISHNESS!"

The vampire then lunged straight for me. I quickly did a back flip to avoid the attack, and then jumped back even further. Before Langor could continue after me, he was dragged to the ground by my zombies, who had grabbed onto his legs. The look on his face was obvious disgust, and he pushed them away one by one with powerful kicks. As soon as he stood up, the zombies continued to pry at any part of him that they could reach. The vampire was clearly annoyed; however he quickly shook them off and began attacking with incredible speed. He extended his nails into long claws, but rather than waste time cutting them to bits, he began cutting off the zombie's legs in order to immobilize them. It was a smart move on Langor's part, and I knew that my zombies wouldn't be enough to stop him.

I summoned my scythe, and prepared to join the fight. As he was still working on the zombies, I shot a blast of my regular aura at him through my scythe. Unfortunately, he easily saw the attack coming and jumped out of the way. He then shot towards me with lightning speed and attacked from above. I blocked with my scythe, only for him to disappear and instantly reappear behind me. I was just barely quick enough to defend before he repeated the move. I had to rely on my instincts as he continued to change his attacking position. A few times I almost didn't react properly and his claws managed to scratch my face or arms.

I was holding out for the right timing, and finally I saw it. I could predict where he was going to appear, and just before he attacked me, the hand of a zombie shot out from the ground and grabbed Langor's foot. With his movement thrown off, Langor was open to attack. I swung my scythe, making a large, deep slash up his chest. The vampire fell to his knees, blood flowing from the fresh would that would have been fatal to any living being.

"Ready to die?" I said with a sadistic smile playing on my lips.

"Not by the hands of a woman who prefers zombies!" Langor exclaimed as he sprung forward and grabbed my throat. I tried to gasp out as his incredibly strong hands nearly crushed my throat. I brought up my scythe, cutting off his arm and releasing my throat.

Langor cried out with pain and gripped the bleeding stump that was his right arm. I wasn't entirely positive how you kill a vampire, as the method changes depending on the legend, but I figured chopping him to pieces would be good enough to win the round. I cut off his arm, then his head, then his legs, and then I chopped those pieces as small as I could until there was next to nothing left.

A few seconds passed before I heard the Koto announce: _"The winner is Mo-mo!"_

* * *

I slowly made my way around the large dome where the tournament was being observed, looking for people I know. At this point I was feeling the stress of using so much of my death powers in one go. I was exhausted, and would have preferred to find a place to rest but I didn't exactly trust most of the demons that were there. Of course, I probably couldn't find anyone because they were still finishing up their matches.

"Ah, here you are, Mo-mo." Mukuro said as she walked up to me.

"Oh, hey." I replied. "Finished your fight already?"

"Ha. It wasn't much of a fight. Just like last year, no one had the guts to stick around and face me." Mukuro explained, though it was hard to tell whether she was happy or disappointed.

"So, has anyone else we know gotten through?" I asked.

"Yomi finished off his fight quickly, as did his son Shura. Hiei should be in the process of fighting, and as far I know, the rest of your friends haven't started yet."

"Cool. I'm gonna go watch the end of Hiei's fight. Coming?" I asked.

"I suppose." Mukuro replied with a shrug.

We made our way over to the nearest television which was displaying Hiei's preliminary fight. As I figured, it was down to just Hiei and Yuki. The two of them were going at each other pretty fiercely, and both had several wounds. That said, to us watching the fight it was clear that Hiei had the advantage; besides the fact that he was effortlessly faster than Yuki, his training during our trip to the demon plane had increased his strength as well. But despite Hiei's advantage, Yuki refused to give in.

"Hm. It seems they're taking this fight personally." Mukuro speculated.

"That's the nice way of putting it..." I muttered.

After a few more minutes, Hiei summoned the sword of the darkness flame. Yuki continued to attack with his holy whip, but Hiei slipped past and cut off the vampire's arm. Yuki cried out in pain, and the detached arm instantly burned away to nothing. Hiei then made one long strike, cutting Yuki clean in half. As Yuki fell to the ground, the two pieces of his body then broke away into several smaller pieces and burned to a crisp as well.

"Impressive. I almost missed the other strikes." Mukuro smirked as Koto and Daisuke announced Hiei as the winner.

"I only saw one..." I hung my head in shame.

"It's fine. Sword strikes that fast are beyond your skill level." Mukuro said in an attempt at reassurance. It didn't help.

On the plus side, that annoying vampire was _finally_ taken care of for good. I suppose I should have been at least a little sad that he was dead, since he did save my life a few times... but he was just so annoying.

I then noticed Mukuro's attention was diverted to a young girl walking towards us. She was very small, and pencil-thin with long black hair that was tied up in a neat ponytail and big red eyes. Though considering she was a kid, I couldn't help but notice that she was wearing light make-up and her nails were painted blood red (I wouldn't have been surprised if it was actually blood).

"Ah, Yui." Mukuro said. "Ready for your fight?"

"Do I have to?" The girl, apparently named Yui, said with a big pout on her face. "I just got my nails done. See? Don't they look great!"

Mukuro stared at the nails for a long period, with a look of utter disgust on her face. "Trivial things like that aren't important. Now go find the group you'll be fighting."

"Fiiiiine." Yui conceded. She then turned and looked at me. "Who are you?"

"Me? I'm Mo-mo." I replied as I bent down and extended my hand to her. "It's nice to meet you."

Rather than shake my hand, the little girl stared at me with a wide, mischievous smirk that made me extremely nervous. "Oh, so _you're_ Mo-mo..."

I could do nothing but stare with a dumbfounded expression. This kid knew me, but I didn't know her. On top of that, she was acting as if she knew something that I didn't which she probably did... It was frustrating.

"Well, I'll be off now." Yui said as she skipped away. "See you later Mo-mo!"

"Um... Bye?"

* * *

**Hey guys. Sorry for another long wait... I haven't been on my laptop in a while... Although I FINALLY managed to secure a job this summer. Where I'm living, it's nearly impossible for us college students...**

**But that aside, I hope you enjoyed my zombie apocalypse :) I know I enjoyed writing it. And just who is the mysterious little girl... Stay tuned to find out!**


	67. Chapter 67

***FAIYUKI'S POV***

I looked over at Koray with a frown, resting my elbow on my knee as I inspected his face.

"What?" he grunted out, still at odds with me from last time we had been on a fighting ground together,

"Not sure, for some reason, though, I feel a sudden urge to kill Mukuro. A lot like how I felt towards you at the party when you did something really stupid towards Mo-mo!" I said, an overly happy tone to my voice. I noticed the fire demon shudder, and my smile widened. "Well, I'm off to find Kurama!" I sang out, getting up and half skipping towards the hallway with a light smile. I was in a good mood. I didn't wind up in groups with anybody I was close to, so I was pretty pleased with myself.

I suddenly found myself pushed against the wall. I glared down on Kirane, but quickly noticed the dampening on my shoulder. He was still, perfectly still, but I could tell he was crying. I didn't even know my vampires _could_ cry. I mentally shrugged it off, standing awkwardly with my hands up.

"Uh, hi." I muttered, not entirely sure what to do. I wasn't paying attention to the fight, but I knew at least that Hiei had won; Koray made that obvious. I never stopped to think of what the little fire midget would do to the vampire twin. Suddenly I realized that, as an author, Hiei had betrayed me by killing off one of my characters without my permission. That was a little irritating, but I had to think from a wider outlook. These vampires had gone beyond what I had made and developed into actual _beings_. It wasn't killing a character, it was eliminating an actual life.

Slowly, awkwardly, and nervously I placed my arms on Kirane's back, rubbing in slow, soothing circles. I sighed, this wasn't going to be easy.

"It's okay." I mumbled, even though it wasn't, "You know, it's how he would have wanted to go: fighting for something he wanted. It was a fair fight, too. He gave his all and he did pretty well, considering his opponent..." I stopped talking; I apparently sucked at consoling. Gently I unwrapped my arms from Kirane and grasped his hand, tugging him along to somewhere he could sit. I kept my eyes away, wanting to provide _some_ privacy. Unfortunately, several demons didn't feel the same. Jeers and laughter was cut short as my rage, and aura, rose; piles of ash were what was left of the guilty parties. I sat Kirane down and placed my hand on his shoulder, standing awkwardly.

I screamed out in surprise when the announcing system rang out, catching me by surprise. I looked down to Kirane as our sect was called to the ring. Oh this was not going to be good. I turned, leaving, praying that he'd just sit out. He wasn't. This _really_ was not going to be good.

Kirane and myself, as well as twenty or so other demons, stood on the giant floating mushroom thing, waiting for the queue to start. I looked around with a chipper smile, observing the opponents with a casual glee which seemed to put several at an unrest. Murmurs of previous achievements flew around in disbelieving tones. Such a little girl could do _that_? Whatever 'that' was. I shrugged, not entirely caring. My eyes turned to the side, watching the distraught vampire from my peripheral vision. This wasn't going to be good. I could only keep him alive for so long... not all of these opponents were mindless blokes that could easily be dealt with.

The call rang out and everybody disappeared, going and hiding in the trees. I didn't hesitate as I sent my aura up as high as it could go, not moving from my spot in the center of the clearing. A fog flew out, enveloping the area as several strangled screams rang out. I could tell that my aura alone got rid of ten or so. Good that was half the group. I allowed my aura to lower, keeping it at a rate where I could react effectively but wasn't wasting it uselessly. My eyes shot over to Kirane, still standing like a dummy but fine. I sighed, then cried out in surprise, narrowly avoiding a very fast attack which almost took off my head. I glared lashing out with a blast of ice, spearing the demon's leg and pinning him to a tree. I smiled at him, giving a warm, almost friendly grin.

I placed my hand on his cheek, gentle; more like a lover than an enemy, but suddenly his eyes bugged out, and his hands flew to his throat, clenching it tightly and cutting off air supply . His face blued, his eyes filling with fear, as I sent him a pitiful expression.

"Aw, poor thing." I mused, shaking my head slightly as his eyes rolled up in his head and his circulation stopped. Dead.

I turned around on my heel, glaring down the opponent which had tried to sneak up on me. The childish pout was now directed towards the demonic woman who glared evilly down on me and I didn't flinch as she froze, and her head exploded. Oh how convenient the amount of water in the body was! Brains for all! I grinned, the fog picking up again and swirling as my tail waved in excitement. I disappeared, or more correctly, used Hiei's trick. Speed. It was something I had heavily focused on in my training, knowing that it would be very beneficial. By the time I appeared again I was covered in blood; three more dead. I turned towards Kirane, yelling out in irritation as I realized demons going towards him; spikes of ice speared the offending opponents. I cried out in surprise as I was grabbed from behind and lifted off the ground.

I kicked my legs in a struggle for escape, glaring down on the man who grinned up at me. I looked over, shuddering as I quickly realized I was being held up by two giant centipedes. By giant, I meant ten or so feet tall. I kicked more violently struggling to escape.

_I have nothing personal against bugs but this is just nasty!_ I thought as he strode towards me, a spider crawling over his face. _Okay, that's really gross._ Was all I could think as he continued to walk towards me.

"Let me go, let me go, let me GO!" I cried out in objection as I continued to flail madly. My ice was having no effect on these stupid bugs and I didn't have enough aura left from the spikes, which took a surprising amount of energy, to control internally. I froze, glaring down as he drew a sword. This could not be good. Not good at all. "Seriously, are you going to be so cowardly as to attack a defenceless girl?" I asked, changing my tone to one of innocence. He scoffed.

"Don't even try that with me, I know your tricks." he growled, grinning again, "And it's better this way; your screams will be clearer."

"Oh great. Somebody as crazy as me." I groaned, realizing that escape simply wasn't an option. He smiled, licking the blade, which earned a disgusted expression from me, before he pressed it against the fleshy part of my leg, pulling slowly to the side and leaving a deep gash. I lashed out with a narrow shot of ice, but it was simply deflected by a large beetle like creature. "Dammit!" I cried out, hissing out as he pressed the blade deeper. Pain seared up my leg and I lashed out, landing a kick to the head and sending the man backwards. That wasn't the best idea.

He came forward again, slashing at my stomach, my arms, my legs, my face; I did my best not to cry out, but it hurt a lot! I cried out, more in surprise than in pain, when the blade got a little too close to my neck. I had been doing well to protect that vital area. Suddenly the man was gone, thrown to the ground by Kirane who had _finally_ moved. I fell to the ground, the centipedes going to their Master's aid. I attacked them with ice, but the attacks simply bounced off. Eventually I got one through the eyes, and the other through a hollow spot in between the shells. I looked over, crying out as Kirane was thrown at me. I was sent flying backwards and the vampire stood, his aura altering dramatically as he fought. I was thrown back every time I tried to interfere, however, so I was stuck waiting for my chance to fight.

It came all too soon.

One minute Kirane was lashing out with his shadow whip, and the next he was absolutely covered in small, black bugs. I heard one strangled cry before there was nothing left of the vampire. The bugs flew away, their appetites sated, and I stood staring in torn awe at the place where the vampire had been just moments before. My aura shot up and I was vaguely aware of what was happening. It was more like a dream than reality; the demon turned towards me, blood adorning the smirk which quickly fell away from his face. Our breath's became visible as the temperature dropped and he tried flee but his legs exploded out at the knee.

Then I was standing over him, silent, and his joints cracking and popping as water built up and exploded out of them, leaving him in pain and immobilized. The bugs which tried to come to his aid were disintegrated before they could get within even five feet of the area we were standing. I glared down on him, not feeling anything really, before a wide smile spread out over my lips.

"Garbage deserves to rot." I stated simply as I brought my foot up and placed it gently on his head, forcing his face sideways as I slowly, contemplatively pushed my heel down, putting pressure on the temple. My eyes flickered a moment as he begged for forgiveness, mercy, anything; my smile spread. I pushed down hard, a sickening crunch resounding out as I crushed his head under my foot. I didn't flinch as shards of his skull cut against my ankle or pull away from the sickening mush which was once a brain. I pulled my foot up, the aura tucking in towards me and blowing out. The gore which was riddled across my body flying out as well. I was left, standing alone, covered in cuts as the announcer called out that I was victorious.

I fell to the ground, feeling sore all over. I groaned in protest and blinked up at a blurry white image.

"You stupid girl, look what you've done now." the male voice sighed out, and it looked as though he were shaking his head. I blinked, trying to clear my sight.

"Yoko?"

"Just be quiet; get some rest."

I didn't need to be told twice, and by the time I woke up...

* * *

"GET ME THE GOD DAMNED HELL OUT OF HERE!" I yelled out, flailing at nurses and contestants alike as they tried to stop my quest for the exit door. "RAGHH!" I cried out as I flailed madly, pulling against limbs and, eventually, ropes.

"She's an idiot."

"I will admit, her energy is amazing." Kurama replied, sighing as he responded to Hiei's insult. "That was a rather close one."

"LET ME GO!" I shouted, a blast of aura shooting through the room and sending the oppressing parties flying back. I booked it for the door, running headlong into it. I blinked, looking down, as I pushed against the door. Nothing. Pull? No better. I turned, glaring down the nurses. "Did you_ lock me in?_" I asked, twitching as they stepped back, holding their hands up nervously. I turned, a pitiful expression on my face, towards the fox boy. "They locked me in!" I whined, collapsing into the nearest chair.

In truth, I was feeling rather sore; I could use the sleep anyways, but nobody needed to know _that_ little tid-bit of information. I sighed, leaning my head back and staring at the ceiling. Was there a place where I _wasn't_ feeling pain? Probably not. I sighed, leaning forward, surprised to find Kurama standing in front of me, worry and traces of irritation on his face.

"You used your life energy." He stated, resting his hands on his hips as he stared down, scolding me with his glare. "You could have died, or been seriously hurt!"

"FYI: I am seriously hurt. FYINT: I probably would have died if I didn't use my life energy!" I objected, forcing myself to my feet as Kurama let out an exasperated sigh.

"Go easy on him, Fai; the fox's been worrying his butt off!" Yusuke yelled out, frowning at me. I looked away, crossing my arms but holding my tongue. For a moment, anyways.

"Speaking of foxes: Kurama, why were you Yoko earlier?" I asked, turning to stare at him curiously. He blinked, not seeming to know what I was talking about. Kuwabara looked to Yusuke who shrugged and Mo-mo shook her head slightly. Hiei looked away, like he knew something, but offered no information.

"He wasn't. He was with us." Mo-mo said, frowning at me worriedly.

"She's right, Faiyuki. That's not possible. Although I rushed out as soon as I could I was very much Shuichi when I got there." Kurama stated, frowning worriedly at me. "You were just tired, and probably still are. You should rest." I sighed, but allowed myself to be moved back to the bed. I swear it was Yoko though... Soon I found my eyes drooping, and I was asleep.

* * *

I woke up to a dark room, a locked window, and a barricaded door. The annoyingly clean smells of the hospital were quickly apparent to me, and I tensed up. There was very little that was worse than a hospital at night. Not even Hiei's rage could top this. I looked around again, a flash of fear flying into my eyes. I sat up, shifting to get off of my bed, when there was suddenly a weight on my feet.

"Yo-" He pressed his finger to my lips, silencing my loud cry of shock.

"Visiting hours are done; don't get me caught." he said, his voice low and quiet. I nodded slowly, looking him over carefully. It was definitely the fox thief.

"You're actually here." I stated quietly, pulling his hand away from my face, "You're _real_!"

"Why wouldn't I be?"

"Well earlier you were there, but you weren't there because you said you weren't there and Mo-mo agreed, but I wasn't unconscious yet so it wasn't a dream so I thought I was hallucinating." I said, all in one quick breath. Yoko sighed, shaking his head slightly. He looked like he wanted to say something, but he kept quiet, instead pushing my forehead back so I was lying down again. He shifted, sitting higher up the bed as he frowned down on me.

"It's late. You need to sleep." he muttered simply, not shunning or commanding. Just... stating. Which was sort of weird. I was too tired to really care about the demon's lack of tone, though; once again it wasn't a lie. I just didn't like being alone in hospitals.

But I guess I wasn't, huh? I fell asleep pretty fast after that. But by the time I woke up, I was alone. I confronted Kurama again, but he was 'with Hiei the whole time'. I frowned. Maybe I really was going crazy. Going? I was there. Just going _more_ crazy.

It was the second day of the tournament and I had been rather lucky. I didn't have any of the fights scheduled in the morning. That meant that I'd probably be either late in the afternoon or on the third day. The more time to heal, the better. I was sitting with Mo-mo, Hiei, Kurama, and the rest of the gang when Mukuro walked up, along with some brat I already didn't like. She looked oddly familiar with sharp red eyes and untameable black hair... I shook my head. No way. That was impossible. Mukuro smirked, however, almost as though she were reading my mind. I glared. The feeling of sadistic discontent rose in my stomach again.

"Hiei, there's somebody I'd like you to meet. This is-" she glared at the girl as she was cut off. The child, who had been picking at her nails previously, looked up with bugging eyes.

"_That's_ Hiei?" she asked, raising her eyes as a wide smile broke on her face. "Daddy!" She squealed out, disappearing and reappearing, wrapped around his waist.

"What?" Hiei blinked, not sure of what the hell was going on.

"What?" Mo-mo growled out, looking very similar to how I was feeling.

"Oh, and you thought Fai and Kurama had relationship issues." Yusuke muttered, escaping with Kuwabara before Hiei could take off his head.

"What the hell is this, Mukuro!" Hiei yelled out, trying to detach the child form his waist.

"_Our_ daughter, Yui."

* * *

**Yeah... Um... Are there words to describe what just happened? Probably not XD**

**In any case, at least we didn't make you wait a month for the new chapter! Enjoy :)**


	68. Chapter 68

***MO-MO'S POV***

"What was that?" I asked in order to make sure I had heard Mukuro correctly.

"This is Yui. The daughter of Hiei and me." Mukuro said with an annoying calm.

There was a long awkward silence as our group mulled over the possibility of Hiei and Mukuro actually having a kid together. Then Fai suddenly perked up, "Ahaha! Hiei's a daddy! Oh my God, Mo-mo, that sucks for you! Hahaha!" Fai's laughter was cut off as the back of my scythe met her head.

"Hold on, you _liar!_" Hiei screamed at Mukuro. "That's not even possible! You and I have never even-"

"What's the matter, daddy?" Yui said as she latched onto Hiei and looked up at him with large, red puppy-dog eyes. "Don't you love me?" This kid was so dead.

"WHY THE HELL SHOULD I LOVE YOU? YOU'RE NOT MY DAUGHTER!" Hiei yelled out.

The little girl's eyes widened with a mix of surprise and disappointment. Though, despite what an ass Hiei was, I really didn't feel sorry for the little brat at all. Then, before Yui had a chance to retort, a voice sounded out:

"HIEI!" BAM! Koray appeared, seemingly out of nowhere, and punched his son with enough force to make a large dent in the floor. As the rest of us stared with wide eyes, I couldn't help but feel that Koray was the last person we needed to overhear this conversation.

Hiei quickly recovered for the blow, and faced Koray with a murderous glare. "Bastard! What the hell was that for?" He screamed at his father.

"Don't act so innocent! You should know better than to speak to a child like that, especially your own daughter!" Koray began, what sounded like a lecture. "You should be happy to have a daughter – and one that you have time to raise and bond with. I wish I could be a father to my own daughter, but thanks to you that isn't possible!" Wow, he looked really depressed by that.

"I don't need a lecture from _you_ – who clearly **failed** as a parent." Hiei spat back.

"Not another word from you!" Koray ordered, actually sounding... parent-like. "Yui, sweetie!" Koray turned around, instantly changing his tone from scolding to overly happy. "Don't listen to your dad; he's just being a jerk. I'm your Grandpa Koray! You can call me papa."

"Um, hi?" Yui said with uncertainty.

"_You're_ Hiei's father?" Mukuro asked with disbelief.

"Indeed I am." Koray replied with a wide smile. "It's so nice to meet my new daughter-in-law." I saw Mukuro flinch uncomfortably at that remark. "Even though I was convinced that Hiei would end up with Mo-mo, a former King of Demon World is quite a catch! I suppose Mo-mo can be a mistress or something." Oh, that's it; he is **so** dead next chance I get! (And possibly Mukuro too.) "But I'll let you kids sort that out for yourselves. In the meantime, I'm going to get to know my first grandchild!" Koray then picked up Yui and disappeared in an instant.

Mukuro twitched. "Should I be worried?"

"Oh, yeah." Fai replied with a nod and an amused smile.

The silence that followed was rather painful. Personally, I couldn't decide whether to chase after Koray and slaughter him or stick around and plot Mukuro's bloodly demise – even if my chances of success were next to zero. I mean, who just comes up out of the blue and tells a guy that she's had his _daughter_? And besides that, she and Hiei haven't really... NO, Hiei isn't that type! _Dammit, this is stupid! _

Hiei grit his teeth as he turned to face Mukuro. "I am done with this! There is no way that girl is my daughter! You are a lying, conniving – "

"Perhaps instead of squabbling, an explanation would be in order." Kurama said as he cut off Hiei.

"I agree." I stated, as I sent a challenging glare at Mukuro. "How do we know your telling the truth and not pulling some cruel joke?"

"I don't joke." Mukuro replied with an arrogant smile that made me want to punch her face in. "Yui really is Hiei's daughter."

"You know, I never took you to be a two-timer, Hiei." Fai said with a smile, clearly relishing in his pain.

"Like I said, _that's impossible_!" Hiei growled.

Mukuro snickered. "Actually, it's very possible. All I needed was a little bit of your DNA, and the child could be conceived using... _alternate _methods."

"Wha..." Hiei stared with an utterly dumbfounded look on his face.

"I see now. This is similar to how Yomi had his son, Shura." Kurama nodded.

"Don't be so calm about this!" I shouted, giving Kurama a good knock to the back of the head. "She conceived a child with Hiei, _without_ his permission! Don't you think there's something incredibly WRONG going on here? And YOU!" I pointed at Mukuro. "This is beyond low, even for a demon! What in God's name made you think this was a good idea?"

"I simply wanted a child who could potentially achieve strength greater than my own." Mukuro said with an obviously fake tone of innocence. "Hiei was the best candidate. Besides, this method of reproduction seemed to work quite well for Yomi."

"Makes sense." Fai said, only to receive glares from Hiei and I.

"In any case, I have a feeling I should check on Yui. I'll see you all later." Mukuro said as she strolled off.

* * *

For the next couple of hours, Hiei was acting even more closed-off than usual. In fact, I was too. All I could think of was Mukuro and Yui, and it made my blood boil. I still couldn't believe that she thought what she did was alright; and she better not make Hiei responsible for the little brat. Father was a role I could _never_ see Hiei playing.

As we walked through the large dome, waiting for the match-ups of the actual tournament, both Hiei and I couldn't help but constantly look over our shoulders to make sure Mukuro or her annoying kid weren't coming to join our group. It would be way too awkward. Unfortunately, it was obvious to the others that we were distracted, and none of them seemed to be able to cheer us up. Finally, Koto and Daisuke announced that the match-ups were posted and we could start focusing on the tournament.

"I don't believe this..." I muttered, reading my first opponent: Koray. I know I said I wanted to kill him, but I never would have done it directly. Karma was such a _bitch_. _Nothing_ could be worse than this. Except maybe having to go against Mukuro.

"Why does God hate me?" Fai muttered as Hiei chuckled. The two of them were paired up.

The smirk on Hiei's face only continued to widen as he thought about the pleasure he would derive from publicly humiliating Fai. "Say, cat... Let's make a little deal. If I win, you stop calling me annoying names."

"Well... Fine! But if I win you have to do whatever I say for an entire day... _Sparkey-chan._" Fai retorted with a smile that caused Hiei to growl.

Yusuke was up against some demon none of us knew, as was Kuwbara for their first round. However, later on Yusuke was scheduled to fight Shura, and Kuwabara would be fighting Yui. Kuwabara cringed at the thought of fighting a child – who was a girl, no less – while Yusuke couldn't wait to get his hands around Shura's scrawny little neck.

"Who're you fighting, Kurama?" Fai asked the fox demon.

Kurama remained dead silent for a moment, with a serious look etched onto his face. Finally, he closed his eyes and said, "Yomi."

Fai's eyes widened. "WHAT?" She exclaimed. "There's gotta be some kind of mistake, there's no way you two are going against each other directly this early in the tournament! Do you have any idea how slim the odds are that you two would even be paired up at all?"

"Um... What's going on?" Yusuke inquired, as we all stared at the two of them with questioning looks.

"Nothing!" Fai quickly retorted.

"Oh, don't say that." A voice came from behind us. Sure enough, there stood Yomi and Shura. "Your friends deserve to know of the little deal we made when all this begun."

"What deal was that?" I asked as I raised an eyebrow at Yomi.

"We had originally agreed that the one who wins the tournament, wins Faiyuki." Yomi explained, causing Kurama to glare at him intensely. Personally, I was surprised that Fai allowed herself to become the prize... _Again._ "However, I believe a slight change is in order; it isn't necessary for one of us to win the tournament any more. Rather, the winner of our match will get the young lady."

"Sounds fine. Let's settle this quickly." Kurama said sternly.

"Don't sound so confident!" Shura said arrogantly. "After all, there's no way someone as weak as you could ever defeat my father!"

"You be quiet, and show some respect to your elders!" Fai snapped at the child. Shura cringed at the scolding, and then hung his head low.

"Well, I'll see you on the battle field, Kurama." Yomi said as he walked away, followed by Shura.

* * *

Naturally, Kurama and Yomi's fight was scheduled first. The rest of us, including Fai, Hiei, Yusuke and Kuwabara decided to go find some good seats to watch the match. Fai was unusually quiet, and seemed agitated for the obvious reason; that Kurama was, yet again, fighting for her future. Except this time it wasn't vampires or some fire demon, it was one of Kurama's old friends – who happens to be one of the strongest demons in the world. Trying to console her would be a waste of time. There was no bright side to this. Considering that the two of them are probably equally good strategists, and the fact that they know each other very well, then the winner would be the one who can hold out the longest.

Kurama and Yomi had made it to the stage now. They were facing each other, waiting for the cue to start their battle. Kurama was glaring at Yomi with fierce determination, while his old friend simply smiled with amusement. It was hard to tell if Yomi was taking this seriously.

"Kurama, you seem rather tense." We heard Yomi say over the speakers. "Your fists are clenched tightly, your pulse is fast, and your breathing has become rather quick. This is most unlike you."

"This isn't a game, Yomi." Kurama said firmly.

"Of course it is." Yomi replied with a chuckle. "After all, this isn't the first time we've brawled over a woman. Don't tell me you have _special feelings_ for this one." Kurama's lack of response was enough of an answer. Yomi's expression dulled. "I see. How... human of you."

Finally the signal came from Koto and Daisuke to start the match. Kurama and Yomi got into their ready positions; Yomi gathering his spirit energy, causing him to glow slightly, while Kurama wasted no time in summoning his rose whip. Yomi then began to charge at Kurama. The fox demon slashed his whip, trying to hinder his old comrade, but to no avail. Yomi avoided every strike with ease and quickly made his way into close range of Kurama, who had to jump to the side in order to avoid an aura-filled punch. However, the assault was not over; Yomi followed Kurama while consistently delivering kicks and punches. Kurama had no time to retaliate between Yomi's attacks, which were fierce and becoming more and more difficult to dodge. Then, roots suddenly broke out from under the stage and grabbed onto Yomi's legs. The former king of demon world was taken aback for a moment, and Kurama seized the opportunity to attack with his rose whip. Unfortunately, Yomi was not fazed. He gathered his spirit energy into his hands, creating a protective and destructive cover, and caught Kurama's rose whip. Kurama's eyes widened with surprise, while Yomi remained silent and almost bored.

"You should have known that cheap tricks like this wouldn't work on me." Yomi said with a faint hint of annoyance. "I was expecting a lot more from you."

Yomi's aura then spread from his hands to encompass his entire body. The energy blazed, dissolving both the vines around his feet and Kurama's rose whip. Then in the blink of an eye, Yomi appeared in front of Kurama and delivered a strong punch to his abdomen. Kurama gasped painfully upon impact. I saw Fai shutter and cover her mouth to restrain any form of noise that might have escaped. The blow sent Kurama flying several feet back, and the landing inflicted several scrapes and bruises to him. Kurama gasped to catch his breath, and despite his pain he managed to get back to his feet.

"I'm not through yet." Kurama said while giving Yomi a cold glare.

"This is most unlike you," Yomi said. "You're usually so careful, making sure you understand your opponent's strategy before creating your own. But today you're acting rash and impulsive, as if you are in a hurry to finish the fight. It must be the human part of you feeling concern for the future of the girl."

"So what? Are we going to finish the fight, or just stand here chatting?" Kurama retorted impatiently.

"Kurama, for many years I have wanted the chance to face you in battle." Yomi continued, despite Kurama's dismissive manner. "When you knew me in the past, I was weak and couldn't see past my many limitations. But after your betrayal I pushed myself, and overcame all my limits one by one. Now there is only one that remains; you, Kurama, are my final limit. Once I defeat you, I can truly be at peace with myself. You, who was my idol and my friend."

"What is your point?" Kurama demanded.

"The point is that the girl is inconsequential to me. It just so happens that Shura likes her, and I feel she would be a good mother to him." Yomi replied. Even though I think he intended to make Kurama feel better, it really didn't. "It seems all this talk isn't helping." Yomi sighed. "Let us get back to the fight. Although I warn you, from here on out I will be fighting you seriously."

Kurama made no reply, and prepared for battle to begin once again. Yomi jumped high into the air, filled his hands with his spirit energy and then thrust them forward, sending a rain of aura blasts in Kurama's direction. Kurama quickly moved to avoid as many of the blasts as he could, but wherever he ran there were more coming down in thick waves and they each exploded upon impact. Kurama struggling to get by; quite a few of the blasts just barely missed him. Finally, one of the blasts came down on an angle and hit Kurama's left shoulder. He cried out in pain as it exploded and nearly took off his arm. Nearly. Blood was pooling from the wound, as Kurama fell to his knees. Shattered bones from his shoulder were peeking out, and nearby skin on his face and neck were burnt away. Unfortunately, Kurama saw that the assault was not over, and despite the immense pain he forced himself to get up and continue to run. It was obvious that he was struggling, as he nearly stumbled a few times, and he held onto his left arm firmly as though he was afraid it was going to fall off.

Then, without any warning, Yomi appeared in front of Kurama, ready to hit him with yet another powerful punch. As Yomi thrust his fist forward, Kurama ducked down to avoid the hit. The fox demon then counter-attacked with his right hand, but Yomi jumped back to avoid both the fist and the vines which shot out of Kurama's sleeve and formed a sharp blade. Kurama, however, was not finished; he pursued Yomi, attacking fiercely with his plant-sword. Unfortunately, for all the strikes he made, not one hit Yomi, who dodged them effortlessly. With grace he tilted, stepped and jumped away from all of Kurama's attacks.

Finally, Yomi began a counterattack; he stepped to the side to avoid Kurama's weapon, and then moved to deliver a punch. Kurama managed to slip past it, but Yomi had predicted such and continued to attack Kurama with fierce punches and kicks. His attack was extremely quick, and Kurama could barely dodge. It was quite obvious that Kurama's technique was much sloppier than Yomi's due to his injuries. His left shoulder was clearly in a hell of a lot of pain, and the previous assault on his abdomen must have been bothering him as well. Finally, Kurama found an opening after dodging one of Yomi's kicks and thrust his vine-sword forward. However, Yomi jumped back to avoid the strike, caught himself, and sprung forward with so much speed that before Kurama knew what had happened he was sent flying by another of Yomi's aura-powered punches. But the assault was not over; as Kurama flew through the air and then skidded across the ground, Yomi gathered a huge amount of aura into his hands to create a large ball of energy. With a quick, victorious smirk, he launched the ball at Kurama – who had been struggling on the ground a ways away – and hit him head on. The explosion that resulted was huge, and resembled a nuclear bomb with its mushroom-shaped cloud.

"KURAMA!" Fai screamed out as she curled up and hid her face in her knees. No one said anything to console or reassure her. They were probably thinking the same thing I was: how the hell could Kurama survive that anyways? I was hoping that Hiei would say something reassuring and mock us for our lack in confidence, but he remained silent.

Koto and Daisuke's voices could be heard on the speakers as they tried to determine whether or not Kurama was still in the competition. However, the smoke from the explosion had not yet cleared, and on the screen we saw Yomi waiting patiently for the result of attack to be determined.

"Hiei..." I began, intending to ask his opinion. However, I noted that a slight smile had formed on his face. Hopefully, I turned to the screen to see if there was any evidence of Kurama at all. I saw that Yomi bore a look of curiosity on his face, and the smoke had become strange; it should have cleared up by now, but instead it seemed to be growing and surrounding Yomi menacingly. A large smirk appeared on Yomi's face and I just barely heard him mutter, "Finally."

"Hey, Fai." I said as I gave her a little shake. "Fai, quit sulking! It's not over yet!"

Fai peeked up from her knees and looked at the screen. The odd smoke on the screen was obviously not normal smoke anymore. It had a silver gleam to it, and it visibly radiated with an electric aura that was familiar to our entire group. Then the smoke cleared and Yoko Kurama emerged. Yusuke and Kuwabara screamed loud cheers of encouragement, while Koto and Daisuke spoke quite excitedly of the new development. I, however, couldn't help but notice that Yoko was not in peak condition, as he still had the injury on his left shoulder, there was bleeding in his abdomen, and he had many scrapes and bruises all over him as a result of the explosion. I'm sure Fai noticed all this as well, which was why she wasn't relieved yet. On top of all that, Yoko bore an angered expression on his face as he glared coldly at Yomi.

"It's about time you showed up." Yomi said with a look of excitement on his face. Clearly he was now looking forward to the continuation of the match.

However, Yoko didn't seem to share his feelings. The newly transformed fox demon simply stared at Yomi with stone-cold eyes and said, "Yomi, it's been a long time since we've seen each other like this."

"Indeed, old friend." Yomi said with a smile. "Although, I've changed quite a bit since back then."

This time it was Yoko who smirked. "Now that is a lie." He said, gaining a bewildered expression from Yomi. "Although you hide it well from your followers, the only thing I see in you is the same impulsive, arrogant fool that you were back then."

Anger was beginning to show on Yomi's face as he took in the insult. "Your words hurt me, old friend. Why the hostility towards me? I was hoping we could have a good fight."

Once again, Yoko's face became cold as serious. "Yomi, you should know better than anyone that I have great pride in my reputation as the Bandit King." Yomi nodded in acknowledgement. "Thus you should be aware that I don't take kindly to those who try to rob _me_ of things I cherish. You, Yomi, have committed that grave sin."

Yomi paused to for a moment to think on Yoko's words. Then it came to him. "Wait... Don't tell me this is about that girl?" He said with utter disbelief.

"She had made it perfectly clear that she would rather be with me than you." Yoko replied. "The fact that she's the stake on this fight is absurd! She's probably feeling miserable as she watches this."

Yomi was astonished. "I don't believe this..." He muttered. "What happened to the cold-hearted demon who only fights for his own gain? Why would you get so emotional over a mere woman? What exactly is her value?"

"Ha. It's nothing profound. The answer is quite simple." Yoko said as a smile appeared on his face. "I rather like her."

I quickly turned to Fai, eager to see her reaction. As expected, her face went bright red, and she retreated back into her knees where no one could see her. That, of course, didn't stop the boys from laughing and nudging at her. Though, I couldn't blame Fai for being embarrassed. These fights were being broadcasted to every corner of the demon plane, so Yoko might as well have been confessing on National TV or something. Yeah, that's pretty embarrassing. And kind of funny.

"Yomi, I have no interest whatsoever in your little quest to overcome your limits." Yoko said as he crossed his arms. "But in order to prevent you and your brat from tormenting Faiyuki any further, I will crush you."

"Very well." Yomi replied as he got into a fighting stance. "Then I will fight you with equal determination to take her away."

And so the fight began again. Yomi released his aura and lunged at Yoko with greater intensity than before. Yoko managed to slip past the punch, but Yomi pursued him using great speed and continued to throw punches and kicks at the fox. But even though Yomi had increased his speed, Yoko dodged with what looked like minimal effort. He was most likely trying to place some distance between himself and Yomi in order to attack from afar with his larger, deadlier plants. He was, after all, a long range fighter.

Finally, Yoko found a small opening after one of Yomi's attempted kicks; he quickly reached into his long, silver hair, removed a rose, and threw it like a knife at Yomi. Although Yomi was about to make another attack, he quickly stopped himself so that the rose slashed his cheek rather than hit him between the eyes. During Yomi's momentary halt, Yoko jumped away – finally gaining the distance he needed and attacked with his rose whip. Yomi dodged the first strike and then launched a ball of aura at Yoko, who dodged with ease. It seems Yomi realized that he had more of an advantage when he fought at close-range, because he then bolted forward, heading straight for Yoko. However, the ground under his feet cracked, and rather than continue on his path, Yomi jumped into the air just in time to avoid a outburst of vines. His feet had almost been ensnared, though he managed to get away. Large heads, which the vines originated from, quickly grew and flowers bloomed on them. The flowers emitted a thick, gas-like substance.

"Arg, that's poison!" Yomi exclaimed as he covered his mouth.

"Indeed." Yoko said with a smirk. "The flowers emit a poisonous that can kill anything that is exposed to it long enough. The vines secrete a liquidized version which takes effect once it enters the blood stream. Be careful not to get cut."

"A daring move," Yomi said. "Although I see two flaws; firstly, I can easily destroy the vines and stay out of range from the gas. Secondly, you are also at risk of being poisoned by your own plant."

"Oh, I've made preparations." Yoko said as he revealed a seed in his hand. It instantly burst and grew to the size of Yoko's hand. It then slithered up his arm, onto his shoulder, up the neck and covered the fox demon's mouth. "This will purify the air I breathe, rendering the poison gas useless. You see, this plant is a dominating one; as it grows and multiplies it kills any other life form nearby and exists in its own poisonous forest. Only those who are suicidal would go near it. Of course, I had to get the seeds somehow, so I used this." Yoko pointed to the plant on his face, which slightly muffled his voice. He then disappeared and reappeared behind Yomi. "And in response to your first point... I don't intend to _let_ you out of range of the gas."

Yoko attacked viciously with his rose whip, forcing Yomi to jump into the haze of poisonous gas. Yomi scowled and covered his mouth and nose with his arm.

"You may want to hold your breath, Yomi." Yoko continued. We didn't need to see his face to know that he was smirking malevolently. "It will only take a few minutes before you're fatally exposed."

Yomi could tell that the plants were continuing to expand, and if he wasn't careful, then he would be trapped in a miniature forest of poison. The plants had already grown to the size of small trees, and were surrounding him on all sides, and even above. Yomi quickly turned around and darted for the nearest exit. However, Yoko was trailing him and attacked with the rose whip, causing Yomi's progress to slow down. Yoko then circled and blocked Yomi's intended path while continuing to attack. Yomi became frustrated, and gathered a ball of aura into his hand to fire at Yoko. However, he caught wind of something to his left, and sure enough vines from the ever-expanding plant began to attack him. He gritted his teeth and shot the ball of aura at the head of the plant attacking him, and it blew up, rendering the vines lifeless.

Of course, that wasn't the end of it; Yoko's rose whip came flying at him with barely enough time to dodge. On top of that, more and more vines were coming after him. Through what seemed like sheer determination and pure instinct, Yomi bolted forward, past Yoko's rose whip, away from the vines and landed a punch on Yoko's already wounded abdomen. Yoko grunted as he hunched, trying to restrain the pain. However, the assault was not over; Yomi quickly leaped into the air, did a front-ward flip and brought his leg down hard on Yoko's severely wounded left shoulder.

This time Yoko screamed out as the wound reopened and started bleeding again. He firmly gripped his shoulder as he slumped to his knees and tried to contain himself. Yomi, on the other hand, did not stick around to relish in Yoko's pain; he jumped into the air, over the mini-forest – which was still expanding – and out of the poisonous gas. He let out a loud battle cry as he gathered tons of energy in mid-air and then thrust his hands forward, releasing all upon the forest. The energy created a large explosion – much bigger than the last one – that utterly destroyed Yoko's poisonous forest, and possibly Yoko too, if he was still in it. As the smoke cleared this time, the burning and charred remains of the plant could be seen and a large crater was left behind. Then Kurama limbed out of the rubble, sustaining even more injuries than before. Although he had reverted back to his red-haired human self.

"Oh? You're no longer Yoko?" Yomi said as he gently glided down towards the ground. "I find that strange... You probably had just enough energy to sustain your better form."

Kurama was now breathing heavily and struggling due to his wounds. "There is... no need for Yoko... anymore."

"What do you mean?" Yomi asked, confused, as he landed in front of Kurama. However, at that moment his legs gave out and he fell to the ground. "W-What?" He gasped.

"You're ankle... When you jumped into the air... after the first attack... the vines scratched you." Kurama struggled to speak. "That's... all it took."

"Unbelievable..." Yomi muttered. "You knew, didn't you? You were just biding time!"

"Concede!" Kurama forced himself to say firmly. "You are dying... I have an antidote... I will give it to you... if you surrender."

Yomi gritted his teeth in frustration. It was clear that he had neither the strength, nor the time to finish off Kurama and then rush to the hospital. Kurama knew it too, and even if Yomi refused to give up then all he had to do was wait.

"Very well." Yomi said reluctantly. "Although it pains me to do so, I concede."

With that, Koto and Daisuke announced the Kurama the winner. Kurama let out a sigh of relief as he made his way to Yomi and administered the antidote to the poison. As soon as he finished, Kurama collapsed next to Yomi. Thankfully, someone had already arrived to transport the fighters to the hospital in the main tournament dome.

"Come on, let's go wait for them." I said as I dragged Fai to her feet and led her away, followed by the boys.

Kurama arrived a few minutes after we did on a stretcher with some temporary bandages on his wounds in order to stop the bleeding. The boys were already busy asking the demon doctors if Kurama was going to be okay, and they explained that most of his wounds should heal just fine with proper treatment. However, they were concerned about the wound on his left shoulder; if it didn't heal properly, then he might lose some or all use of the arm. They said Kurama was lucky it was still attached.

"Man... I wonder if he'll be able to continue in the tournament?" Yusuke said.

"Of course he's not!" Fai burst out, speaking for the first time since Kurama's fight began. "There's no way he's fighting in this condition!"

"O-Okay..." Yusuke cringed.

Koto then sounded over the loud-speaker, _"Match two will begin in approximately 10 minutes. Would competitors Koray and Mo-mo please make your way over to the fighting arena."_

"Guess that's my cue." I said.

"Don't worry, we'll be cheering you on the whole time!" Kuwabara exclaimed.

"Go give 'em hell!" Yusuke said as he slapped my back.

"Thanks guys." I said as I took in a deep breath and started to leave. I glanced over at Hiei, who wasn't even looking my way, and hoped he would say something. Of course, it was a stupid thought; it goes without saying that Hiei isn't the encouraging type. Hell, he'd be more likely to say 'Have fun getting your ass handed to you by my idiot father!'

_Good luck._ I heard a voice say in my head.

I turned to Hiei, who was now looking at me from the corner of his eyes. I smiled and kept on walking.

As I strolled through the corridors of the tournament dome, thinking about my match, I got the feeling that I had something to prove with this fight. Though, I wasn't too sure what. Maybe prove to Koray that I'm a good fighter? Show Mukuro that I'm not gonna just sit around and take her crap? Prove that I'm good enough to be with Hiei? That was ridiculous. Hiei _wants_ me around. We established that a long time ago. I mean, wasn't that what he meant when he gave me the promise ring last Christmas? The ring... I reached for a chain around my neck that had been hanging under my shirt. It had the ring on it, which I held in my hand and stared at for a minute. It was a simple, clear jewel on a gold hoop. I carried it with me wherever I went, though kept it out of sight. I figured if people saw me wearing it, they'd ask who gave it to me, and it would be too embarrassing for Hiei. I didn't even show it to Fai; she'd never let him hear the end of it. Well, whatever the case may have been then, I suddenly felt like wearing it. I carefully slipped it off the chain and put it on. I kind of liked the look of it, though I wasn't used to having something on my finger.

In any case, my fight was starting soon, so I continued on.

* * *

Koray was already at the fighting area when I arrived, smoking a cigarette as usual. He sat on the ground cross-legged and stared at me with an arrogant grin on his face. His laid back demeanour really annoyed me. I was trying to take this seriously, but it was hard to do that when my opponent was a complete joke. Of course, it's partially my fault for designing him that way.

"Nice of you to finally show up." Koray said as he stood up and brushed some dirt off his pants. "Say, isn't this the first time we've officially fought?"

"I guess. So what?" I said dismissively. I wasn't really in the mood for this kind of banter. Besides, I was still pissed off about what he said earlier.

"Heh heh. Someone's moody." Koray snickered. "That time of the month?"

I swear, the next time I feel like creating a character it's going to be someone who's actually pleasant to be around. "No, actually it's not."

"Hmm..." Koray hummed as he threw away his old cigarette – which had become too short to smoke – and replaced it with a new one.

Daisuke's voice sounded out, _"It is now time for the second match of the tournament to commence. Fighters get ready,"_ I summoned my scythe and got into a ready position, while Koray just stood there as if he were engaged in a trivial matter. _"Begin!"_

"I suppose it's time to get down to business." Koray smirked. "Perhaps a continuation of our little heart-to-heart at Hideyoshi's party?"

"In your dreams, asshole." I retorted, scowling at the recollection of such an event. "Let's fight."

"You shouldn't be so eager to lose. Calm down and have a little fun." Koray said as he blurred out of sight. I then saw several after-images of him dizzying around me, through which an attack was sure to come eventually.

It wasn't hard to deduce that this was how Koray would begin. As his creator, I knew that his fighting style consisted of three steps; speed, sword-play and fire. He almost always begins a fight by showing off his speed, trying to disorient his opponent and make the first strike. He would then move to sword-play, inflicting damage that could be minor or fatal depending on the skill of the opponent. If those aren't enough, then he will use fire to inflict critical damage and finish off the opponent. Of course, this includes the darkness flame. On top of that, he doesn't feel pain and he acts like an idiot in order to provoke his opponents. The question was, could I possibly beat him, even knowing all this? The chances still weren't looking good.

Finally, Koray attacked, bringing his sword down from above me. I quickly raised my scythe and defended. Koray smiled and then disappeared again. I turned my weapon so the blade curved around behind me, and blocked another strike. He continued to attack me from al l angles, appearing in and out of sight. It was clear that he was slowing himself down in order to gauge my skill.

"You've improved your technique, I see." Koray said as he continued to attack me. "Maybe it's time to speed things up."

I then felt pain in my cheek as it was slashed by Koray's blade, which I didn't even see. Before I had time to adjust myself to the new speed, my left arm was cut just below the shoulder. Koray was attacking so fast, it was like I was being struck in several places at once. I tried moving around to throw him off, or find where he was, or anything, but within seconds I had cuts everywhere. I needed to find him. Even though I was still being attacked, I closed my eyes and focused. I could sense his presence; little slivers of energy that popped up all around me. Rather than try to catch up with his movements, I waited for just the right moment. He was to my right, my left, above, behind, and then...

There! He was right in front of me, and approaching fast. I quickly fused aura into my scythe, and slashed upwards, putting a huge gash across his chest and cutting his sword in two. Koray quickly jumped away from me and landed in a cat-like manner. He stood up and observed the damage.

"Well, now..." He said as he looked down at the wound. "That was a pretty good hit. I suppose this won't be of much use, huh." He proceeded to wave around what was left of his sword and then tossed it aside.

"I _have_ been training, you know." I said matter-of-factly. Although I felt a bitterness rise in my throat as I recalled that it was Mukuro who trained me.

Koray cocked his head to the side, and looked at me with interest. "Hm... That's a nice piece of jewellery you've got there."

I paused for a moment. The ring was the only jewellery I was wearing. "Oh, this?" I said non-chalantly as I held my hand up to show it off. "Hiei gave it to me. It _is_ nice, isn't it?"

"HA!" Koray burst out. He didn't believe me. "It's sad how hard you try despite you incompetence."

"Yeah, well, it doesn't matter how incompetent I may or may not be. The fact is, Hiei likes me, and I don't have any intention of backing down just because of Mukuro's little brat! So there!" I exclaimed, flipping up my middle finger, which had Hiei's ring on it.

Koray simply stared at me with an awkward mix of annoyance and amusement. "Look, whatever you and Hiei might have had was cute while it lasted, but forget about it. No demon in his right mind would take you, a weak human, over a demon like Mukuro. Don't get me wrong, this isn't _entirely_ personal. I just want the best for my son, and I think he could do much better than you."

"What makes you think your opinion even matters?" I shot back. "If you want to talk about what's best for Hiei then let me tell _you_ that he could much better for a _father_! You're more like an annoying child who won't leave him alone! You prance around, declaring you're his father, when you've never once treated him like a real son. Face it, you failed as a father and Hiei hates you!"

There was a moment of silence. Koray stood still, as of frozen in time; he had stopped breathing, and his mouth gaped slightly as he stared at me with wide eyes full of disbelief.

Then things drastically changed; Koray clenched his hands into tight fists, and he grit his teeth as a flaming aura surrounded his body and moved to cover the area surrounding us. He looked directly at me, not blinking once, and I could almost see the pure rage flooding into his eyes. It might have been the light cast by the fire, but his eyes seemed to be glowing.

When he spoke, it began as a small whisper... and then exploded into a fit of fury. "Don't you dare... SPEAK TO ME THAT WAY!"

The flames reacted to his anger instantly, and then quickly pooled together, engulfing me in a burning mass of fire. Then _BOOM!_ They exploded. Thankfully, I had a technique that would defend against Koray's fire. I simply covered my entire body in a layer of aura thick enough to withstand the heat and the flames. I got the idea from Bui – whom Hiei had fought in the Dark Tournament – and worked on it with Mukuro. Sure, I wasn't so good that I could levitate or stop a dragon of the darkness flame, but during a fight I could maintain a pretty strong defence that also doubles as offence. And I kind of liked the sound of 'Battle Aura.'

Koray stared at me blankly, though his eyes were cold and still full of anger. He didn't seem upset that I had survived the attack, though I'm sure he was plotting how best to make me suffer. There was an air of bloodlust around him which was terrifying, yet at the same time it was exhilarating and I couldn't wait to continue the fight. Besides, I had gotten Koray to take me seriously. That in itself was worthy of a gold medal or something.

"What are you smiling at?" Koray asked in a cold, displeased voice, noting my instinctive action.

"Oh, nothing." I shrugged, brushing off the question. It was kind of funny how our roles had become reversed.

"I wouldn't be so calm if I were you." Koray said. "After all, you're about to get seriously hurt."

"Yeah, well, I came into this fight expecting that."

Without any sort of response, Koray disappeared. He reappeared in front of me and punched my face with a flaming fist. Due to my battle aura, I wasn't hurt, but the blow did send me a couple steps backwards. However, right as I recovered, a fireball came and hit me head on. Just as before, the fire had no effect on me. Of course, Koray should have known this, so I suspected the fireball was a decoy. I sensed Koray's presence above me, and sure enough he was in the process of attacking me with the sword of the darkness flame. I didn't have time to dodge, so I quickly strengthened my battle aura and raised my scythe to block the attack. It was no good; the flaming sword sliced through my scythe and my battle aura like butter, making a huge gash from my left shoulder across my chest.

I cried out in pain and fell to my knees. Blood was pooling from the wound, which was burnt and had begun to throb intensely. I trembled as I tried to maintain my cool, as well as my battle aura – which had begun to dissipate.

Koray had now walked up to me, with the darkness sword swirling green and black flames in his hand. For a moment, I thought he was going to ask for my surrender, but his eyes showed that he wasn't going to let me off that easily. With his left hand, he roughly grabbed my hair and lifted me up. Then, in a swift movement, the darkness sword pierced my abdomen. I let out one final cry of pain before falling into unconsciousness.

* * *

**Wow, this chapter is like the never ending story or something (minus a dragon, sadly) -_- Kurama's fight really did not want to get written... Which is sad because I had been looking forward to it. I mean, I cut out ideas that I had for Yoko because the fight was getting too bloody long and tedious! However, I did have fun with Koray's fight.**

**Also, I should apologize for the long wait. I've had this written out by hand for a while, but I was working 5-7 days a week and had no time to type and post before now. Oh, and I moved out to go to school. Fun times.**

**Hope you enjoyed the super-long chapter! :)  
**


	69. Chapter 69

**I am SO sorry for the long wait. One thing after another just kept coming up, and we kept pushing this to the side. On the bright side, we've regained a ton of inspiration, and will hopefully continue to update this regularly again. Some things to look forward to in the next couple of chapters are the end of the tournament and the beginning of some more vampire trouble. Enjoy :)**

***AIYOKU FAIYUKI'S POV***

Koray. Did. More. Than. Was. NECESSARY. I twitched, for the hundredth time in the last few minutes. I was pissed off- even more so than Hiei, who seemed even more irritable than usual- and with good reason. I was lucky, at the same time, catching only a glimpse of Mo-mo as she was rushed past me in the hospital. She looked almost as bad as Kurama- beaten, bloodied... four holes in her stomach. Her face had a lot of damage too, although that appeared to be mainly superficial. My jaw dropped and anger flooded my eyes as I gritted my teeth, shooting to my feet and excusing myself from my perch next to Kurama's bed. He still hadn't woken up. However, revenge on the god-damned fire-demon was more important at the moment. It wasn't too hard to find the source of his flickering aura, and I was reminded of watching a moth fly right into a flame.

_I'll douse that damn fire of his- let's see how he likes a bath!_ I thought sharply, not amused in the slightest. I found him outside, standing with his arms crossed against a tree- like he knew I was coming. He probably did, now that I thought about it, but I wasn't exactly in the mood for sneak attacks at the moment.

"You remember what I said at Hideyoshi's?" I asked, my voice chipper as an almost sadistic smile flew to my face. I didn't get an answer, only a smirk. "Well, it also applies here." Apparently it was funny, because he started laughing his head off. I glared- I had no idea as to what in the world could be so freaking _amusing_. To be honest, I didn't particularly give a damn. "Damn it, I'll shove that blown-up, conceited, egocentrical head up your ass-" I paused as the P.A. rang out, calling me to return to the stadium for my fight before I got disqualified. "At least I _would_ but even destroying you isn't worth giving Hiei the satisfaction of being able to say I chickened out."

Again with the laughter- I mentally debated my worth as a stand-up comedian, but knew that Koray was simply dropped on his head as a baby: I really wasn't that funny.

I stormed through the hallways, sending sharp looks at anybody who was stupid enough to stand in my way, and stalked towards the stadium. Finally, I made it to the stadium, and my mood was only worsened by the condescending smirk that was glued to Hiei's face.

"I thought you were going to back out, cowardly cat." he spat, venom in his voice.

"No. I am, after all, the intelligent one of us two- I was dealing with _your_ dead-beat of a father because you're too incompetent to do so. Unfortunately _somebody's _impatience interrupted." I growled, glaring at Koto. Hiei scoffed- obviously he wasn't entertained by my petty excuses.

"_Well, folks, this will prove to be an interesting match!"_ Koto continued talking, much to my annoyance. _"Hiei and Faiyuki were fellow teammates in the last tournament, and now they've been pitted against each other! Though personally, I don't think Hiei's the type to care about cutting down a former ally."_

Honestly, I wasn't thrilled about this fight. I wasn't lying when I said that the only reason I even showed up was so that Hiei wouldn't call me a coward. The fact is, I'm not stupid; I know that I can't possibly defeat Hiei in a serious fight. And judging by the smirk on his face, I'd say he looked pretty excited to tear me apart, which was terrifying because I didn't think I'd ever done anything _that_ bad to him. I mean, do a few harmless jokes and taunting merit the bloodlust that was gathering in his eyes?

"You're unusually quiet today." Hiei said. "What's the matter? Scared of what I'm thinking of doing to you?"

"Oh, come on!" I exclaimed. "I know we're not exactly best buddies, but you don't hate me _that_ much, do you?"

Hiei's smirk grew wider. "What, are you begging for your life? If so, you should probably try a little harder."

"What? No! I'd never beg _you_ for anything!" I quickly shot back.

Before anything else could be said, Koto began to speak. _"Competitors, get ready. And let the fight begin!"_

Immediately, Hiei blurred out of sight. I picked up a trace of Hiei's aura to my right, and instinctively raised a barrier of ice just in time to block a sword strike. _God, was he aiming for my head? I swear, I will never trust the stupid midget ever again!_ I quickly formed a bunch of ice blades between my fingers, and threw them at Hiei. Of course he dodged with ease, disappearing and reappearing not too far away. He still bore a condescending smirk on his face, and the more I looked at it, the more I was reminded of Koray. Apparently, the apple really doesn't fall too far from the tree. Hiei disappeared again, this time moving to attack me. Again, I could sense his aura, and jumped out of the way of his sword. I only had time to dodge one more sword strike before falling back into defence. I created another ice shield to block the next attack, but what I didn't see was that this was not a sword strike; Hiei was attacking with a fist of fire. It melted through my ice, allowing Hiei to punch me right in the face. I let out a loud gasp of pain as the blow threw me backwards and onto the ground. Besides the fact that Hiei was strong to begin with, the fire burnt my cheek and made the pain worse. I spit out a mouthful of blood, and then focused again. I could sense Hiei coming at me full force, trying to take advantage of my off-guarded moment. He shot a blast of fire at me, but I did a forward roll to avoid it, formed a blade of ice on my hand and thrust it at him. However, Hiei stepped to the side, avoiding my strike, and then quickly kicked upwards, hitting my extended arm with perfect timing. My ice blade was shattered, as was the bone in my forearm.

It took a moment for the new pain to register, but when it did it was excruciating. This time I full out screamed as I held the wounded limb close to my body. In a moment, I felt a warm liquid running down my arm, and when I examined it, I saw that pieces of the broken bone were sticking out of my skin and blood was trickling out as well. I quickly shut my eyes and turned away. There was nothing that nauseated me more than the sight of my own blood.

"_Hiei, you jackass!"_ I yelled out, furious that he went this far. _"Just because Mo-mo isn't watching... AGH! Doesn't mean... you can torture me like this!" _

Hiei was now standing next to me, looking down at me as I writhed in pain. "You call this torture?" He said with a slight chuckle. "This is just a precursor. Things will only get worse."

I was in so much pain, it was almost unbearable. I decided to freeze the wound in my arm so it wouldn't worsen, and hopefully it would go numb and stop hurting. Great. There goes the use of my dominant arm.

"You know... Mo-mo's gonna be **pissed** when she finds out about this." I growled at Hiei. "It's a shame, really. You two have become _so close_, I'd hate for that to be ruined by little ol' me."

Hiei stared at me with a curious expression. "You sound bitter about something."

"Who, me? That's silly. What could I _possibly_ be bitter about?" I replied with a fake smile, and an overdose of sarcasm. "Oh, wait. I know. _Maybe_ it's the fact that you and Mo-mo have been **sneaking around behind my back.**"

There was a pause before comprehension flashed in Hiei's eyes. "You mean the ring?" He said.

"Yeah, that just _might_ be it." I said before spitting out more blood. My stupid mouth was still bleeding from stupid Hiei's stupid punch. "When were you planning to tell everyone that you've promised yourself to her, huh?"

"Tch. Don't blame me, I left it up to Mo-mo to decide whether or not to tell people." Hiei said with a roll of his eyes.

"Yeah, right!" I exclaimed. "You probably _told_ her to keep it a secret! I know Mo-mo, she's my best friend, and we don't keep stuff like this from each other!"

"Oh yeah?" Hiei smirked. "Did _you_ tell her about the ring you got from the fox?"

"Well, I..." Come to think of it, I hadn't. At the time I was being manipulated by Serafin. Not happy thoughts.

"Hm... It seems like the two of you aren't as close as you thought." Hiei grinned.

My eyes widened as I stared at Hiei. _He DID NOT just say that. "Hiei..."_ I said in a voice that was almost a whisper. _"Take. That. Back."_

"No." He persisted, taunting me further. It was obvious that he was trying to get me angry so that I would lash out without thinking, but I didn't care. He crossed a very dangerous line by questioning my friendship with Mo-mo, and I would see to it that he pays dearly for his mistake.

I stood up slowly, ignoring the pain from my wounds. The temperature in the air around us drastically dropped. I spread my aura as far as I could, freezing everything within a large radius. Hiei obviously wasn't affected by the change. If anything, he seemed amused. We both knew that none of my ice attacks would have normal effects on him, but with the terrain in this condition, I had an advantage. Over the past couple months of training, I had learned a few new tricks that would help me keep up with Hiei.

"Well, it seems you're not completely helpless without the fox around to save you." Hiei smirked. I made no reaction, but let the anger I felt burn in my eyes as I stared at the fire demon. "This is going to be more fun than I thought." With that, Hiei disappeared.

In the blink of an eye, he was right in front of me, sword ready for a strike. He brought it down upon me, but the blade barely missed. I took advantage of Hiei's momentary shock to turn the ice under his feet to water, and willed it to surge up and consume him. While he struggled without any oxygen, a single formation of ice shot up and knocked his sword from his hand and consumed it. Hiei quickly regained his composure, and managed to escape from the water by heating it to the point that it evaporated into steam. He gained some distance from me, not that it did any good while he was still within the "ice rink" my aura had created.

"You've gained a lot of control over your powers..." He noted, though the assault hadn't done anything to him, other than soak his clothes. "Let's try that again." He disappeared from my sight, though I could still follow his aura. He appeared behind me, with a fist of fire at the ready, but again the attack missed. Though that's not entirely right; it's more like I slipped out of the way just in the nick of time. Just like when he attacked me with his sword.

"Hm... I see now." Hiei said matter-of-factly. "You shouldn't be quick enough to dodge my attacks, even if you can follow my aura. But you control the ice under your feet so that you can _skate_ away just in the nick of time. Though, that's a rather simple deduction. You can control both the speed and trajectory at which you move while ignoring the usual physics. Not bad, but nothing I haven't seen before."

"So what? It doesn't change the fact that you still couldn't hit me." I shot back.

"Perhaps." Hiei replied. And again with that smirk! Was he still taking it easy on me? _Well, if that's the case, then I'll just have to step up my offense._

I willed several ice spikes to shoot up from under Hiei, but he jumped into the air, avoiding impalement. As soon as he landed, I turned the ice under his feet to water and he fell beneath the surface into what was a small lake before I froze everything. The opening was then shut, trapping him underwater. I could sense him flailing in the water, temporarily disoriented, and without air to breathe. I knew he wouldn't drown on his own, so I made the water around him force its way into his mouth and nose, making it very uncomfortable for him, to say the least. Sadly, that wasn't enough to finish him; Hiei released a huge wave of his aura, which pushed back and evaporated the water around him, not to mention the layer of ice that trapped him below. Even though I was standing a ways away, I could feel the heat from his outburst, and a large chunk of my ice field had melted away. When things cleared up, Hiei was standing there; unhurt on the outside, but he was coughing up the water that had forced its way into him.

"Heh. Nice try." He said after a minute. Although the words were complimenting, it still sounded like he was mocking me. I said nothing. It was Hiei's turn to attack, but he just stood there staring at me. He seemed to be thinking about something, but I didn't care what. I just wanted this damned fight to end. Preferably with me as the victor. Then finally he spoke, "I was planning on saving this for a more worthy opponent... But you're just _asking_ for it."

I raised my eyebrows questioningly, but he simply smiled and began taking the bandages off his right arm. As soon as I realized what he was doing, all my confidence shattered, as did my composure.

"Woah, woah, woah! Hold the phone! You're not seriously using **that** on me, are you?" I objected.

Hiei smiled with amusement. "And what if I am?"

"Oh _come on_, Hiei! Tell me what in _God's_ name I did to you that was so horrible I deserve this!" I shouted. The bandages were now fully removed, and a black aura began to radiate from Hiei and spread throughout the arena. All the ice I had created melted away as soon as Hiei's aura consumed it. "I'm serious, Hiei! Whatever it was, I'll make it up to you somehow. You don't have to _kill_ me, you jackass! _What will Mo-mo think?_!"

"Well, she might be upset for a little while." Hiei said with a shrug. "But I'm sure she'll realize that nothing of _real_ importance was lost."

"Oh, God..." I muttered. This was it. Hiei was going to kill me.

The black aura was becoming more and more intense by the second. I could feel it weighing heavily on me, infecting the air, threatening to choke me and burn me alive. All the while, Hiei bore a smirk of great pleasure. He could feel me breaking, and was enjoying every moment. I could hardly take it. Sure, Hiei and I never got along, but I would never have killed him. And even if I wanted to, it wouldn't be with some overkill attack. And after he's through with me, there won't even be a body for my friends to bury. How could he do this?

The attack was now ready, and Hiei got into a position to launch it at me.

"I don't want to die..." I barely whispered.

"_JAO..."_

"Please don't do this..." I continued, even though Hiei either couldn't hear me, or chose to ignore my words.

"_ENSATSU__..._"

I could feel my throat choking up. "Please, I'll do anything..."

"_KOKURYU-HA!"_

"NOOO! I GIVE UP! YOU WIN! I'M SORRY FOR EVERYTHING I DID, JUST DON'T KILL ME!" I cried out as I shut my eyes, fell to the ground and curled into a ball, covering my head with my arms. I could feel the hot flames burst around me, and then nothing. There was no sound. Everything was black. If this was death, it was much more boring than I had expected. And wait, wasn't I supposed to go to Spirit World or become a ghost or something? I then became aware that I was still clasping my head, and that my eyes were still closed tightly. Slowly, I let go of myself, and opened my eyes. Things were blurry for a moment, but then I saw that I was still in the fighting arena. Hiei was standing over me, with an uncharacteristic smile on his face.

"Wha..." I began, but then he started laughing. Really laughing. Like the way Yusuke or Kuwabara would laugh at a joke.

After several minutes of this he calmed himself down enough to speak. "Now **that's** what I call begging for your life! Haha! You should try it for the fox sometime, I'm sure he'd enjoy it!" And with that, he began laughing like an idiot again.

"_What. The Hell. Is going on?" _I demanded harshly, too confused to be upset over his vulgar joke.

Hiei smirked. "Did you _really_ think I'd waste the dragon of the darkness flame on a weakling like you? Heh. I didn't actually summon it, if that's what you're wondering."

I couldn't believe this. He totally psyched me! And I bought it too!

I quickly rolled backwards, out from under him, and jumped to my feet, ready to tear him to shreds with my bare hands. "You son of a..."

"Now, now. You don't want to look like a sore loser, do you?" He said with a chuckle.

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"You gave up the fight. Your loss was announced a few minutes ago." Hiei smirked. For a moment I stopped, standing still as I tried to register the information. I frowned, was it really that big a deal? Sure, my pride was wounded, but there had always been things that were more important to me than that. My friends, for one- then my eyes widened. Mo-mo. Last I had seen _her_, she was going into surgery.

"All the better!" I finally shot, scowling down on Hiei, "I'll go check on _ my _best friend, then deal with your dead-beat dad; at least I didn't waste all my energy on a fake-out." My insides, in all honesty, felt like jelly. I was angry at myself for behaving like such a coward, and for leaving Koray without punishment. Also for allowing Mo-mo and Kurama to slip from my mind. They were the two most important people in my life- how could I just _forget _about them like that. I turned and sprinted off the stage, towards the exit doors, running past Hiei, who's mood seemed to have fouled with my response. I'm sure he was expecting more. Again the pain in my arm registered, and I hissed. When I passed out, I lost focus and my mini cast melted, the numbness wore away and only pain was left. I kept my head up, refusing to look at the injury as I tore towards the medical bay.

Standing in front of the doors I gave myself a moment to calm my breathing before I pushed the door open.

"...we might as well just cut it off."The doctor said, looking from Kurama to the nurse, "With the damage that extensive, he'll never be able to use it a-"

"That's not for you to decide!" I shouted, striding forwards as my composure flew out the window. I was an emotional wreck. Well, I usually was, but it seemed like today more so than usual. Things weren't processing well, and I wasn't taking that well. "**I won't allow it.**" I hissed, my feline ears going flat against my head as my tail twitched aggressively. Very much like an animal about to strike, I took a step towards them. Anxiously, the doctor and nurse backed away from Kurama's cot and I moved back to my perch next to him. I flinched when I tried to bring my right hand up to push some hair out of his face, realizing it didn't want to respond right. With I frown, I awkwardly used my other hand. The doctor's jaw dropped when he saw the bone pieces protruding from my arm, and I gave him a blank 'what' expression. Finally the nurse nervously moved forwards.

"W-we won't touch him, but you have to do something about your arm!" she shouted, matching my gaze with determination.

"Why should you care?" I grumbled back, scowling irritably as my ears twitched slightly. It felt like my hair was standing on end, and I unintentionally hissed at her when she took a step forwards. The action caught even me by surprise, but biting down on my pride I looked towards the ground. "You promise you won't cut off his arm? Even if it won't work anymore?" The nurse made a vague sound of acknowledgement, and I stood up, glaring the doctor down. "If anything _at all_ happens to him, I'll kill everything in here. Got it?" He nodded. I was surprise my threat even worked, considering my humiliating defeat which they _must_ have heard about, but regardless, I allowed myself to me put to sleep so they could repair my arm.

When I woke up the first thing I noticed was the disgusting stench of sterile-ness. I scowled at the ceiling, shifting uncomfortably in the cot as I tried to push myself up into a sitting position. To one side of me, there was Kurama. He was sleeping, but it looked like he had been awake at some point. On the other side was Mo-mo. She was pretty banged up, bandaged like a mummy. She was also asleep. I didn't see Hiei anywhere, but I could hear Yusuke and Kuwabara complaining about lost fights. Well, that answered one question. I pushed myself up more, flinching as pain shot up my right arm. I looked down on the tight bandages. At different spots there were stains of red, but the bone felt relatively solid. It was only the superficial wounds that had to heal. I was confused by that, but then I realized that they had probably used some technique to deal with the drastic part and left the other part to nature. I looked back over at Mo-mo, my expression contemplative but blank. I shifted, my back against the headboard and my knees pulled up to my chest, held there by my good arm.

_Hm... It seems like the two of you aren't as close as you thought__..._The mocking voice rang out in my mind. Not telepathy, memory.

"Shut up!" I shouted, regardless, whipping my pillow against the door. "What would that stupid midget know, anyways..." I mumbled to myself, burying my face into my knees.

"Not very much, ya?" I looked up, surprise flickering into my face when I quickly realized that the white room was gone- there was only blackness and the cot that I was sitting on, as well as a dark-skinned boy with messy white hair and dark, black eyes, who stood leaning over the bottom of my bed. He smiled lazily at me, and I frowned. I would have been totally content to never hear anything remotely Russian again.

"What do you want, vampire?" I growled, not moving, "I'm in a bad mood." With a smirk he tossed something small towards me. Instinctively I caught it, and when I opened my palm I saw a familiar ring. "Where did you..." I frowned again, looking up at him warily. "Where are we?"

"Alternate deemension." he stated, bluntly. I noted distractedly that his accent wasn't as heavy as the other girl, Tatyana's, had been. "Eets meine."

"Oh because I couldn't gather _that _much." I growled, "Now take me home."

"Ohh?" he said, his voice whimsically humming as he looked me over, "But don't you want to know a secret? About your beloved fox?" That caught my attention, and I turned to glare towards him.

"What are you talking about?"

"Well, zere eez a way to save 'iz hand." My expression melted away to surprise and I waited for him to continue. "You know zat ze demon eez inside ze boy because of 'n injury, da? I know where 'iz body eez." From what I could understand this could be a very good thing. Again I sat at attention, listening closely. He smiled. "Tamryn could help you, da? Find zee body."

"What's the catch?" I frowned, knowing that it was coming.

"You fight viz us in ze var. Eet eez coming. You fight, Tamryn finds zee body. Everybody eez happy, da?"

"Fine... Tamryn." I said slowly, looking him over. "I'll help. But I'm injured- what good am I?"

"Zer is time, silly silly girl! Ve vill train you and make you strong eenough, even for zat midgit, da? And fox thief gets 'iz body back. Everybody happy. 'Nd no vorries, da? Tamryn vill make it look like you just run avay again." I will admit, I felt a little bit guilty about just disappearing again, and leaving everybody behind without letting them know where I was, but this wasn't exactly something that I could just say no to. I could get Yoko back his body, and Shiori wouldn't have to worry about Kurama just disappearing and getting injured. It _did _dawn on me that Kurama might not even want to separate from Yoko, but I decided that I would be selfish. In the long run, this would be for the better.

"Lead the way." I finally said, shrugging lopsidedly as I pushed myself off the bed. He took my hand, leading me into the darkness.

* * *

**That accent... such a pain to write... hopefully you guys understood, and if not, what went on will definitely be expanded on, so don't worry. On another note, can I say that I could not stop laughing during Hiei's fight with Fai! It's probably one of my favorite fights of the tournament so far, though there's another good one coming up in the next chapter, so don't miss it!**

**Thank you to those who are still with us at this point. We greatly appreciate the support :)**


	70. Chapter 70

***MO-MO'S POV***

I slowly opened my eyes. My head was spinning, and I as I moved to sit up, I felt sharp pains throughout my body. Groaning, I pulled myself into an upright position and looked around. I was in a small hospital room, and beside me were two beds; one was empty, and Kurama was in the other. The room was dark, and after looking out the window I realized that it was night. It took a moment, but I finally recalled that I was here because of the injuries Koray had dealt to me during our fight. Observing my wounds, I noted that most of the smaller injuries were already healed, but the holes in my stomach would need a few more days, at least.

"I see you're finally awake." A familiar voice said from the doorway.

"K-Koray!" I gasped with a start. He was the last person I wanted to see right now. I wondered where Fai was, considering Kurama was out cold and God knows she'd be worried as hell.

"Are you feeling better?" He asked with a smirk, though the way he said it was almost mocking. On top of that, I got a really sinister vibe coming from him.

"I, uh... Yeah, I guess." I couldn't really think of anything else to say. "So, was there something you wanted?"

"Well, now that you mention it..." Koray started as he walked over to the side of my cot. "I do have something to say about what went on during our fight."

_Oh crap..._ I thought to myself. Now I was in for it. I should have known better than to offend Koray in a personal way, even if he did deserve it.

"Judging from your expression, I'd say you already know what I'm talking about." He said as he stood beside my bed and stared straight into my eyes. "Let's get one thing straight... The only reason you're still alive is because simply killing you wouldn't satisfy me at all. You crossed a very dangerous line by saying all that stuff about me, and I'm going to make sure you pay for it."

"H-hold on a second!" I quivered, trying to think of some way to reason with him. However, before I could say anything else, he grabbed my throat. The smile has vanished from his face, and a familiar bloodlust filled his eyes.

"Don't bother begging. Nothing you say will get you out of this. Not even Hiei can save you." His hand clenched tighter around my throat, and I tried to pull it away, but it was no use. Then he roughly pushed me onto my back, and stared at me for a moment as I struggled under his grasp. He then drew a knife from his belt. "Your death won't be quick. _I'll make sure you suffer unimaginable pain, and take pleasure in your screams of agony_."

I had to do something... Maybe I could escape somehow... No, I'm still wounded and he was too focused. There was no way I could get away on my own. If only someone else were here! Hiei, the guys, Fai, a nurse, _anyone!_ Then an idea struck me. I reached my hand to the side of my cot, but then Koray stabbed it with the knife. I let out an awkward squeal, as a result from his other hand that was still grasping my throat.

"Not so fast." Koray said, "Buzzing the nurse won't do you any good. Though, you did remind me that this isn't the best place to go about our business. We should move someplace more private." With that, I found myself falling, as Koray teleported us away from the hospital. When we landed, Koray threw me to the floor. I coughed and gasped for air, now that I could finally breathe again, though my throat was still in pain. Taking a moment to look around, I saw that he and I were in a small, dimly lit room. There was one door, and that looked like the only way out. Koray let out a small chuckle. "There. None of your little friends will find you here."

_Nice going, Mo-mo! _I scolded myself mentally. _Now no one knows where the hell you are, and you have to find some way to stay alive and escape all on your own!_ Well, there was no way I was just going to give up and let this guy have his way with me. I quickly stood up and summoned my scythe. Koray made little to no reaction to this, and I began to channel my aura into my weapon. I swung my scythe, sending a blast of aura at Koray. He dodged with ease, and with that I bolted for the door. Koray then appeared in front of me, though I had been expecting him to pull something like that, so I ducked down and managed to slip past him. I was just about to grab onto the door knob, when his foot met my cheek and sent my flying to side. I landed with a thud, and then moved to get back on my feet. However, Koray appeared instantly behind me; he grabbed the back of my head, and shoved my face into the floor using enough strength to cause an indent.

I let out a loud cry, and curled up from the pain. My forehead had taken brunt of the damage, and I could feel blood beginning to flow from it.

"Is that all you've got? I thought you valued your life more than that." Koray said as he incinerated my scythe.

What the hell did he expect from me anyway? On a _normal_ day I couldn't beat him in a fight, and right now I was still suffering from the wounds he dealt during our fight. God, being human _sucks_ sometimes. On top of that, he's clearly trying to provoke me. I guess he thinks this will be more fun of I fight back.

Well, if that's what he wants then why not? He already made it clear that he's going to kill me, so I have nothing else to lose. I jumped to my feet and gathered as much aura as I could muster into my fist. With a loud battle cry I lunged straight for Koray and punched with all the strength I had. Unfortunately, Koray caught my fist with his hand, and then crushed it – causing me to scream in pain yet again. He then managed to get behind me and twisted my arm around, dislocating it. I tried to resist shouting out, but it was unavoidable. He released my arm, and I let myself fall to my knees. I was too distracted by the new-found pain to fight, not to mention the warm blood that kept streaming down my face was making me uneasy. Just when I thought Koray was finished for a moment, there was an eruption of pain in my abdomen where I had previously been hurt. I looked down to see Koray's sword sticking out of my stomach. He then grabbed my hair, and leaned in so that he would be speaking right into my ear.

"Does it hurt?" Koray said in a soft, menacing voice while he twisted the sword that was still piercing my abdomen. I clenched my teeth and tried to make as little sound as possible while the blade tore at my insides. "This is nothing. Next I'm going to slowly cut off your fingers one by one. Then we're going to play a little game... We'll see how long you can live when I cut you open and slowly remove your organs."

"You... You're pathetic." I said.

Koray tensed. "Excuse me?"

"You know that what I said about you during our fight is true... But instead of facing up to the truth, this is how you run away from it. You're just a coward!"

"_Shut up!_" Koray screamed as he pulled the sword out of me, and then slashed my face across my right eye. A loud cry escaped my mouth and I curled up on the floor, trying to push the pain from my mind.

"W-what's the matter? Ha... A few words bug you so much? I thought you were the one in control here..." I managed to say.

"I'm fed up with you..." Koray growled. I could tell he was starting to lose his composure. "You think our fight the other day was the first time I felt the need to get rid of you? Even before then you were always saying things about me that you shouldn't know, and acting like you know me. It's infuriating!"

"You know... Hina would be disappointed if she saw you like this."

With that, Koray froze. His eyes were wide, and stared at me with utter astonishment. "What... did you say?"

"You heard me." I continued. "She'd be sad if she could see what you've become." Slowly, his hands and teeth began to clench, and his eyes practically glowed with fury. "All you do is hurt the people around you... while you ignore your own problems. Do you really think that makes her happy?"

Finally, he spoke, "You... A filthy human girl... YOU HAVE NO RIGHT TO SPEAK ABOUT HINA!" Koray began lashing out, slashing me with his sword over and over. There was no technique or control; he had gone mad. "SHE WAS THE ONE PERSON I LOVED, AND YOU THINK YOU CAN SLANDER HER NAME LIKE THIS! DON'T BE SO INSOLENT! EVERYTHING I DID WAS FOR HER! I GAVE UP EVERYTHING FOR HER! I SUFFERED FOR HER! YOU HAVE NO RIGHT TO EVEN SAY HER NAME!" Koray's sword strikes were becoming more ferocious. I used my good arm to protect my head, but I was getting cut everywhere. They were deep cuts too. He wasn't holding back at all. Well, at least this way my death will be quicker than he had planned.

"That's quite enough." A foreign voice called out.

Koray instantly halted his assault, and we both looked towards the door to see who was there. Much to my surprise, it was Mukuro.

"Haha... What do you mean it's enough? It won't be nearly enough until she's dead!" Koray muttered through heavy breaths. His eyes were wide, and an insane smirk had appeared on his face. "Yes... I'll make her pay. I'll make her regret crossing me..."

"You've completely lost it..." Mukuro stated with disgust in her voice. "I won't let you do any more harm to her. Now leave."

For a moment, Koray stared at her, unsure what to make of this. Then he started laughing maniacally. "Ahaha! What this? You're defending this piece of garbage? I don't know why you would want to do that. Didn't she insult you as well? Isn't she, a mere human, trying to take Hiei away from you? Shouldn't you be trying to help me?"

"Let's get one thing straight," Mukuro said, "Hiei does not, and has never belonged to me. Nor does he belong to you, even if you claim to be his father. But I didn't come here to talk about that. This is the last time I'll repeat myself: _Leave now_."

Koray let out a small chuckle, and then walked right up to Mukuro. He stared down at her with a cocky smirk on his face. "_Someone_ sure seems eager to fight. Say, aren't we going against each other in the tournament tomorrow?"

"So what?" Mukuro replied.

"Why not just settle things then? If you win, I promise I won't hurt Mo-mo ever again. However, if I win, you have to back off and let me do as I please."

Wait, Koray was going to make _me_ into a prize? I couldn't let them do that! God, this must be how Fai feels most of the time. "H-hold on, Mukuro... You don't have to agree to that!" I called out, attracting her gaze. Now that I think about it, I must have looked pathetic lying on the floor covered in wounds. "The tournament fights have nothing to do with me... Y-you're supposed to be fighting for yourself, so-"

"Fine, you have a deal." Mukuro said to Koray.

A smile formed on his face. "Good. I look forward to our match." And with that, he walked out of the room.

This was really unexpected. I didn't think I'd end up indebted to Mukuro like this. On top of that, I was frustrated that someone else had to come and save me again. I'd like to think that with all my training I could at least manage to escape on my own. I guess I just have bad luck.

"Come on. Let's get you back to the hospital." Mukuro said as she helped me to my feet and supported me. The movement made me cringe in pain, but I refused to make a sound. This was embarrassing enough as it was.

"How did you find me, anyway? Come to think of it, where exactly is this place?" I asked.

"This is an old storage room in the basement of the tournament dome. Though, no one comes down here anymore." Mukuro replied.

"Oh..." I replied simply. I was kind of curious as to what she was doing down here in the first place, but I guess some things are better left unsaid.

The trip back to the hospital was long and painful. Thankfully, since it was the middle of the night, there were few people hanging around so no one had to see the mess I was. Not to mention it couldn't be good for Mukuro's reputation to seen aiding a badly beaten human. When we arrived, the nurses were surprised to discover I had left, though they were shocked that I returned in worse condition than when I was first admitted. They promptly got to work on treating my wounds, and after a few hours of being swabbed, bandaged, and given pain meds I was put back into my bed alongside Kurama – who was still unconscious. Before leaving me to rest, the nurses asked if I knew where Fai was, since she also seemed to have disappeared, but I had no idea. Apparently while I was unconscious, Fai had lost her match and been admitted. I knew that she really didn't like hospitals, and it was possible that she just left, but I couldn't shake this feeling that something was wrong.

Mukuro then walked into the room. "You must be feeling better now."

"Well, it's nice to have a bed, but I can hardly move in all these bandages." I replied. Between the cut on my face, the broken nose, and wound on my forehead, half my face was covered up. On top of that, my right arm – which the nurses had relocated – was put in a sling, and the re-opened hole in my stomach was wrapped up again. Wait, had Mukuro been waiting for the nurses to finish treating me?

"You don't mind if I stay for a while, do you? I was hoping to talk." Mukuro said as she pulled up a chair and sat next to my cot.

"Yeah, no problem. I mean, I really owe you for saving me back there. I don't know how I'll ever make it up to you. Though I really wish you hadn't agreed to that deal of his..."

"Are you afraid I'll lose?" Mukuro smirked.

"No! I just... don't think it was necessary." I muttered awkwardly. "I mean, you probably have better things to worry about than me."

Mukuro gave me a curious expression. "What makes you say that?"

"C-come on, you're aiming to rule the Demon Plane again. I'm pretty insignificant compared to that kind of pressure..." I said as I pretended to readjust some of my bandages. Conversations like this always made me feel awkward, and I needed to do something with my hands.

Mukuro stared at me for a moment before speaking again. "You know that I consider you... a friend."

I stopped fiddling and looked at her.

"I don't bestow that honor upon many people. Quite frankly, I have no use for such a thing." She paused for a moment, and then smirked. "You know, Koray isn't the only one who thinks I should feel threatened by your relationship with Hiei. Several of my supporters have brought it up. And, to be honest, when we first met your presence _did_ make me uneasy. I found it strange that Hiei would willingly spend time with a human girl, much less get close to one."

"Believe me, I never expected things to go this way." I said.

"I know." Mukuro replied with a slight smile. "After getting to know you a bit better, I realized that I have nothing to worry about. And I know Hiei pretty well, so I can see that he genuinely cares for you."

I blushed a little at that. "I'm sorry... I guess you've liked Hiei for a while now, and I just butted in."

"It doesn't bother me anymore." Mukuro shrugged. "Being human, you won't be around forever. Hiei can have his fun with you for the time being. I'll wait until you're out of the picture." She said with a smirk.

"Right..." I muttered with unease. So she was just gonna hang around until I die? God, Mukuro really knew how to make a situation awkward.

As if on cue to spare me anymore of Mukuro's antics, the door to my room burst open. "Mo-mo! You're awake!" Yusuke shouted. He, Kuwabara and Hiei walked in. Though, they paused in shock as they saw my new injuries. "Hey, what happened?"

"You look _worse_ than you did after your fight!" Kuwabara exclaimed.

"Oh, it's a bit of a long story... I'll tell you some other time." I stuttered awkwardly, not wanting to talk about it. "Anyway, how's the tournament going? Are you guys still in?"

"_Don't_ change the subject." Hiei said harshly. "You look like someone was torturing you. Tell us what happened, and who did it."

I let out a sigh, and decided it was probably best to just get it over with. "It was Koray."

Yusuke and Kuwabara's eyes widened with shock, while Hiei's face became contorted with rage.

"I don't get it... Why would he do something like this? Didn't he already beat you?" Kuwabara said.

"He wants me dead." I said simply. "The only reason I'm still alive is because Mukuro saved me."

All eyes turned to Mukuro, who was still seated in silence. Her face was blank, and for a moment she met Hiei's curious eyes, and then she spoke. "Mo-mo's life is the stake on my fight with Koray." The boys gasped, and I could see Hiei becoming angrier.

"How the hell could you agree to something like that?" Hiei demanded.

"He would have killed her on the spot." Mukuro replied matter-of-factly. "Or else he and I would have fought, and Mo-mo would have gotten caught up in it. Being as wounded as she was, I doubt she would have survived." With that, Hiei grit his teeth and didn't say anything further.

"Damn... So whoever wins the next match gets demon world _and_ Mo-mo." Yusuke muttered.

That one caught me off-guard. "What about demon world?"

"Oh yeah, you don't know..." Yusuke said. "The tournament's reached the final match. We've all lost already. It's just Mukuro and Koray that are left now."

"Y-you can't be serious!" I exclaimed, though the looks on everyone's faces said otherwise.

"As I've told you before, there's no problem." Mukuro said. "I don't plan on losing."

"Yeah, but still... this is Koray we're talking about. I don't think I've ever seen him lose." Kuwabara said.

"More than that," Hiei cut in. "We've never seen him unleash his true power. I fought him once, and even after he used a dragon of the darkness flame against mine, it seemed like child's play to him. Don't get cocky."

"I know." Mukuro replied.

Then an announcement sounded, _"Ladies and Gentleman, welcome to final day of the tournament! It's been a great run, and at last we've come to the final round. The match between previous ruler Mukuro and the challenger, Koray, will begin in roughly an hour. Competitors, please make your way to the stage."_

I hadn't even realized that morning came. Mukuro stood up, sent me a glance, and then left. The next hour felt really long. The boys had managed to get us a TV so that we could watch the match from the hospital room. Kurama had also woken up, and thus we had to fill him in on the current situation. His awakening reminded me that Fai was currently M.I.A, and when I asked the boys about her, they said that they had no clue. Hiei was quiet and deep in thought the entire time. Occasionally I saw his eyes fall on me with concern. It looked as though he wanted to say something comforting, but couldn't.

Finally, it was time for the match to start. On the TV, the announcers were chatting away about the competitors, and who was the favorite to win, but I wasn't listening. I simply watched the screen, which displayed Mukuro and Koray facing off at the center of the ring. Both stared at each other without blinking; Mukuro was calm and focused, and Koray – though he seemed to have settled down since the past evening – was not wearing his usual smile, and he had a dark look to his eyes. The two didn't exchange any words. They simply waited to begin.

"_At long last, we present everyone the final match of the tournament!"_ Koto exclaimed with glee and excitement. _"Begin!"_

The fighters wasted no time. In the blink of an eye, Koray changed his position and shot a stream of flames at Mukuro. She had already dodged, and shot a blast of aura towards the fire demon. He quickly drew his sword and cut the blast in half, only to be met with several more coming his way. With ease he did the same to these ones, and then disappeared. I couldn't tell where he was going to appear, but Mukuro must have been able to follow his movements, since she dodged a sword strike that came from above. Koray wasn't finished; he continued to pursue her with his blade, attacking fiercely as she slipped past his every attempt. For several minutes they continued in this way; Koray relentlessly attacked, leaving Mukuro no openings for attack. Koray aimed a strike for her right shoulder, but his blade stopped halfway through the motion and he quickly spun around to kick her from the other side. Mukuro blocked with her shoulder, and then sprung forward to deliver a fierce punch. The blow sent Koray flying, though he did a mid-air flip and landed square on his feet.

His usual cocky smirk returned to his face. "Not bad. It must have been a solid hit, since I can taste the blood in my mouth."

"You fight rather carelessly." Mukuro observed. "Every move you make is pure offense. You hardly bother to defend yourself. Is it because you don't feel pain?"

"Of course." Koray replied confidently. "The point of defense is to avoid getting hurt because the pain will slow you down physically and mentally. But since I don't feel pain at all, I have no need for defensive tactics."

"You treat your inability to feel pain as a strength, when it should be viewed as a weakness." Mukuro said. "Tell me, what would you do if I cut off your legs? You may not feel the pain, but you would be unable to fight."

Koray let out a deep chuckle. "Is that so?"

"Your arrogance will be the end of you!" Mukuro exclaimed as she released a large amount of aura. It consumed the entire ring, and destroyed most of the surrounding landscape.

Koray appeared to be completely unaffected by Mukuro's impressive display and responded by releasing his own fiery aura to counter hers. Intense red hot flames covered Koray's side of the field, and fought against Mukuro's aura. The two seemed nearly even, and when one increased their power so did the other. Their power continued to grow, and even then, neither seemed to be putting their full strength into it. Then, as if they both had the same plan, they abruptly stopped releasing their aura and disappeared. In the next instant, they were both at the centre of the field, preparing to launch a devastating punch at each other. Their fists met in a great collision of aura and fire. They were locked in that position, trying with all their might to overcome the other. Then, as the two powers reached their peak, there was a large explosion and the two demons were sent flying backwards. Both landed on their feet, and skidded to a stop. They had both taken some minor damage from the explosion, but their right hands were hurt badly from the battle. Some of the fake skin on Mukuro's hand had been melted away to reveal the mechanical interior – which had also taken some damage. Koray's hand looked like it had been mauled by a savage beast, and blood began to flow from the open wound.

I stared in awe. Both of them were amazing fighters. Of course I already knew that, but watching them go at it like that was something else. They had fought with all that energy, and still had more to spare. I could only dream of that kind of power. On top of that, the fight was so evenly matched. I was hoping to have an idea of who would win by now, but there was no way to tell. It was the uncertainty that really bothered me. Never mind my life; if Koray won the fight then he would be ruling the demon plane. That thought sent a chill down my spine.

Both had taken a moment to assess the damage done, but now they were ready to get back to the fight. Mukuro extended her arm in a punch motion, and then there was an explosion of aura from beneath Koray. He jumped away, but had barely a moment to pause before there was another explosion from beneath him. Koray continued to scurry around, narrowly avoiding Mukuro's attacks, until he found an opening that gave him just enough time to launch an attack of flames at her. Mukuro was forced to dodge, thus halting her assault, and allowing Koray to approach for close combat. He unleashed a head-on attack of flames, but Mukuro leapt to the side. Koray then covered his fists with fire and relentlessly punched at her, disappearing and reappearing from all angles as he had done during his fight with me. For the most part, Mukuro was able to follow his movements and either blocked or dodged, but each strike that hit her left burn marks on her body. However, despite the damage taken up until now, Mukuro shot her right hand forward. Koray immediately halted his attack and jumped out of the way, narrowly avoiding the long, multi-colored line that shot from Mukuro's hand.

"Her space-cutting ability." Hiei said. "I was wondering when she would use this."

"Yes, this should turn the tables in her favour." Kurama said.

Koray was hesitant to make an attack, knowing that if he got hit by that kind of attack he could be destroyed. Mukuro continued to swing her arm, creating more cuts in the space around herself and Koray. We, the viewers, could see that right now her goal wasn't to hit Koray, but to contain his movements and limit his speed. Within seconds they were completely enclosed.

Koray smirked. "Trying to finish things quickly?"

"I can't afford to waste time." Mukuro replied simply.

"Don't be so uptight." Koray said in a playful tone. "You're going to lose either way, so you might as well have some fun first."

Koray burst into laughter, but Mukuro was not amused. Her eyes narrowed, and her hand shot forward. Koray moved to dodge, but he had reacted too late and the cut in space took off his left arm. It was odd to see someone receive such a severe injury without screaming or curling up. Rather, what little concern was in Koray's eyes seemed to be in reaction to the _sight_ of the stump that was left of his arm.

"I'll make you eat those disgustingly arrogant words." Mukuro said in a low, menacing voice.

"Oh yeah?" Koray replied with a smile. "As you can see, I'm hardly affected by a wound like this."

Rage filled Mukuro's eyes. With a quick flick of her wrist, another cut in space shot forward and cut off his legs just above the knees. Koray gasped in shock to the sudden loss of balance as he fell to the ground. He sat up to observe the damage, and his eyes widened in reaction to the fact that his legs were no longer there. Mukuro walked up to him with a triumphant and condescending look in her eyes.

"How embarrassing," She said coldly. "For all your talk the only thing you can do now is scrape along the ground."

"I hope you're not asking me to surrender." Koray said as he glared up at her. "It won't happen."

It was Mukuro's turn to smirk. "That's fine. I hoping I would get to kill you." She then lifted her foot, and brought in down on Koray's chest – or rather _through_ his chest. The force was enough to crush his ribs as well as his heart. For a moment, Koray's eyes widened greatly but then he went limp. Mukuro removed her foot as Koto and Daisuke began screaming her praises.

"Woah... that was awesome!" Yusuke said with awe.

"Mukuro is indeed someone to fear." Kurama said with unease. "But at least Mo-mo can rest easy now."

I let out a sigh of relief, as did Hiei. There was no way I could thank Mukuro enough, even if she was partially fighting for demon world.

Koto and Daisuke announced Mukuro's victory. She began to walk away, her one foot leaving a trail of Koray's blood behind her. But then we suddenly heard laughter; a soft maniacal laughter that continued to grow louder. Mukuro froze on the spot. A dark, heavy aura surrounded her, and black flames burst up all around her.

"Sorry, but... The fight isn't over just yet." Koray said in a low, threatening voice.

The announcers started to flip out. He had to be dead... no one could survive that. I knew Koray, he didn't have regeneration abilities or special healing powers. He even admitted that he doesn't bother with defense strategies. Yet, the aura was clearly coming from him, and even though he was still lying flat on the ground, missing three limbs and a foot-sized hole in his chest, we could see his face full of life and laughing insanely.

Mukuro could do nothing but stare in horror as her victory was so easily diminished. The black flames that surrounded her began to move towards Koray. They pooled together and filled the hole in his chest, and then moved to take the place of his missing limbs. Koray then stood up, looking absolutely monstrous. His face was contorted with insanity greater than anything I had ever seen. His red eyes in particular glowed through the dark aura that emanated from him. The three limbs Mukuro had cut off were fully replaced by fire, and the black flames that filled the hole in his chest blazed with life. Koray wasn't merely using the fire; it was a part of him.

"Heheh... I hope you didn't think it would be that easy to kill me." He said with a low, menacing voice.

"How the hell are you still alive?" Mukuro demanded.

Koray inhaled deeply through his nose and let it out. The breath came out as black flames just like the ones that surrounded them. "It's an amazing technique isn't it?" Koray said as he fixed his eyes on Mukuro and began circling her slowly. "The darkness flame, that is. You know, the first thing people think to do with this kind of power is channel it into an attack, but there are other options. A fire demon who has truly mastered the flame can use it to heal. Though my personal favorite is to become one with the black fire, and use its power to make me invincible. It's a pity Hiei hasn't figured it out yet, although I wonder how far he could-"

Koray was cut off as Mukuro hit him dead on with a blast of aura. "You talk too much."

Unfortunately, as the smoke from Mukuro's attack cleared, Koray stood completely unharmed. "And you must not have been listening."

Mukuro's face clearly displayed her frustration, but she was not ready to give up. Mukuro threw her right hand forward, sending a cut in space straight for Koray. The fire demon smiled and held out the mass of black flames that formed his left arm. Mukuro's attack hit it right in the palm, but did not extend any further. Koray moved his hand to the side, redirecting the multi-colored line away from him. I saw Mukuro stiffen as one of her best attacks was just rendered useless.

"Bastard..." Hiei muttered as he stared the TV screen with rage-filled eyes. "He had a technique like this the whole time... This wager must have been a joke to him. He knew he wouldn't lose."

Once again Koray exhaled flames, and began to speak again. "Well, as much fun as it would be to toy around with you for a bit, I think the audience would much rather I finish this. Besides, there's someone else I'm much more eager to play with."

As he said that, Koray turned his eyes so that they were staring straight into the camera. Even though he wasn't looking at me directly, I felt the harsh glare and it sent a chill down my spine.

After a moment Koray turned his attention back to Mukuro, who did nothing but wait in silence. The black fire that surrounded them began to shift, and the flames seemed to dance as they gathered around Koray. I envied how calm Mukuro was able to keep herself in that situation. A lesser person would be consumed with fear, but she stood firm and ready Koray's next attack.

Finally, Koray seemed ready. His aura had grown immensely, and a wide smirk appeared on his face as it exploded and shot into the air. The black flames grew to an enormous mass and began to take a shape that our group was very familiar with. In seconds it was complete; a large dragon with a pair of wings, four limbs and flaming spikes. With a command from Koray, it spread its wings and flew straight for Mukuro. As the dragon neared, Mukuro raised her hands and released her aura in one final attempt to fight back. Despite all the power she was unleashing, the dragon's impact was not hindered at all and the flames completely consumed her. The attack persisted beyond the boundaries of the tournament and continued for miles, leaving a trail of disaster behind it. As it faded into the distance, everyone knew the fight was over. This time for good.

There was silence. For a long time no one said anything. Koto was the one to break the silence as she announced the end of the fight, and the winner of the tournament. I could do nothing but stare in shock at the screen. Koray had beaten Mukuro, and I was next. That was terrifying.

"We need to leave." Hiei said with uncharacteristic worry.

"Huh?" was all I could muster in response.

"We need to get out of here. _Now!_" Hiei continued on.

"But... Where?" I asked.

"It doesn't matter!" Hiei shouted. "Just somewhere he can't find us. Now get up."

Before I had any time to react, Yusuke cut in. "Hold on, Hiei! Mo-mo's still badly hurt. She can't go running across Makai in her condition."

"Yusuke's right." Kurama said. "You need a plan."

Hiei growled in frustration. "There's no time! You saw what that guy can do. We need to get out of his reach, and fast." As Hiei said that, he grabbed my good arm and tried to pull me off the bed and onto my feet.

"Come now, dat iz no way to treat a lady."

All eyes turned to the intruder as his thick German accent echoed in the room. It took a moment, but I recognized his features. Tall, blonde, piercing blue eyes, and skin pale as snow.

"You're that vampire we met months ago." Hiei said with spite in his voice. "What the hell do you want?"

"Dere iz no need to speak like zat." The vampire said with a slight smirk. "Efter all, I have come to help you."

"Who is this guy?" Yusuke demanded.

"Ah! Forgif my rudeness. My name is Heinrich, I am de leader of de Changed Vampires." He said with a bow. "It vould seem dat Mo-mo iz in a bit of trouble... Perhaps I could lend some assistance."

"We don't need help from the likes of you, now _get out_." Hiei replied harshly.

"But you know... Vampire territory iz not controlled by Makai." Heinrich said as with a smirk. "In fact, ve have an agreement dat forbids dem from coming onto our land."

Hiei froze as the vampire said that.

"So what you're saying," Kurama interjected. "Is that you can provide protection for Mo-mo. The question is, what do you want from them in return?"

Heinrich sent an annoyed glace to Kurama, and then turned his eyes back to Hiei and myself. "I cannot give any of ze details in front of your friends, but ve only require some of your fighting experience. So, vill you hear us out?"

I didn't know what to say. Part of me wanted to make the decision in this matter, but the whole situation had me completely overwhelmed. I looked at Hiei who seemed to be struggling with what answer to give. Finally, he clenched his fists and turned to the vampire.

"Fine. We'll go along for now."

* * *

**Sorry for the long wait! But now the tournament's over, and we're getting into more mayhem with the vampires. Enjoy :D**


	71. Chapter 71

**Okay, wow. So I know its been forever since a new chapter has come out, but now we're back on track again, and ready to write! I'll give a brief recap, since it's been so long. Tournament is over, and Koray won, making him current ruler of demon world. Koray wants Mo-mo dead, so she and Hiei are hiding out with the changed vampires. Faiyuki is on a quest to separate Yoko Kurama and Shuichi, but to do so she has teamed up with the half-blood vampires. Fun fact: the changed, the half-bloods, and the pure blooded vampires are all at war against each other. Fun times.  
**

***Yuki's POV***

I stood, staring into the growing red mass in the snow. The thick, crimson substance, which clung to my skin, itched, causing discomfort that I knew I couldn't fix. The fleshy mass in front of me looked nothing like the humanoid figure it had been before I came across it, but it was quickly being covered by the pounding blast of the beginnings of a blizzard. But that was my job now. In order to attain something precious to me, what choice did I have? Frowning, I turned away, a cool glare on my face as I tried to calm the raging blood lust that had been growing in the past months.

_That's the second time today_, I thought glaring into the white wall of snow, _that somebody has come through here. They seemed upset, what the hell did they mean by 'he made us do it'? _Shaking my head, I crossed my arms and continued walking. It was irrelevant, really- as long as I did what I was supposed to do nobody could ruin the progress that I had made on finding Yoko's body, although the progress wasn't very much. My feline ears flicked, unable to pick up sound in the muting snow storm, although the action cleared the quickly pilling snow away from the area surrounding them. The cold didn't bother me very much, but the growing paranoia in my stomach made me rush. Something told me I needed to get back.

"Allo, Miss-"

"Shut it, Leach." I growled, stalking past the vampire who simply smiled at me, used to my cold actions. The dark skinned, white haired boy was Tatyana's 'second hand man', and my assigned babysitter. True to fashion, he only smiled and followed silently after me. My nose twitched, picking up on a familiar and irritating smell, although I couldn't quite place it. "Who brought trash in?" I asked, turning to Mikhail with a sharp glare. He only shrugged and smiled at me, and I was tempted to tear his face off- of course, I had tried it a few times before, but I usually wound up pinned. The scars on the side of my neck told that much. Not feeling like bleeding today, I simply crossed my arms and shifted my weight to one hip glowering at him, scrunching my face up as he walked forwards, placing his hand down on my head and pressing, continuing to smile as my tail twitched back and forth, a clear sign of my agitation.

"For now, Miss Yuki, go and clean yourself, da?" he ordered, his tone making the command clear as he pushed harder, forcing me to take a step back, "I will take you to see ze guest after." I frowned up at his smiling face, ducking down and out of his grip, looking down at my bloodstained self before hissing under my breath in agitation, walking off towards my room. Mikhail followed every step, a foot or so behind me, and off to the side. Despite his relaxed demeanor, I knew that he was watching my every move, and I hated him for it. But it had been like that since I had healed. Coming over from the tournament was one of the most painful things I must have ever done, and I swear I was almost devoured several times before I was even back to full health, but I was immediately thrown on guard duty, the benefit of being further north than the other tribes providing practically year-round snow making me a viable resource on the defences. I surveyed a quarter of the territory at all times, using the snow to figure out who's on the land and whether or not it's worth killing, the rest of the territory was divided up into three more quarters, which were guarded by five man teams. I groaned quietly, rolling my shoulders to remove the stiffness. Keeping up the blizzard would save me from having to go back out, but the steady strain was agitating at the best of times.

I turned into my room, striding through the sleeping area and slamming the bathroom door behind me, listening as the main door closed. It was safe to assume that Mikhail had followed after, as per usual.

_It could be worse_, I thought, mildly distracted as I peeled the bloody clothes off of me, knowing that I had an extra outfit in the cabinet under the sink, _he could be a pervert. The gods know I've had bad luck with those. _I chuckled dryly, stepping into the shower and turning the water on, sighing as the heat cascaded over my body. I stared down into the drain for a while, simply letting the hot water beat onto my head as my ears pressed down flat against my head, watching as the blood corrupted the water and spiralled down the drain in pink swirls. Once the water was running clear, and I was satisfied that I was clean, I stepped out of the shower, and grabbed the towel off the counter, drying myself off before reaching into the cabinet.

Reaching high up, my fingers met no fabric, and I frowned before dropping my hand down lower.

_I could have sworn that this was full yesterday._ I thought, finally bending down and looking into the dresser.

"What the hell!?" I objected loudly, pulling out the only outfit in there- one I'll say, was **not** mine. The frilly maid dress was my size, but it wasn't anything I would ever even let into my room, let alone into my wardrobe. "LEACH!" I shouted out, more to get his attention through the closed door. When there was no sound from the other size I stood up, wrapping the large towel around myself and walking towards the door. "Mikhail?" I asked, not nearly as loudly as I opened the door slightly. The first thing I noticed was the smell- smoke, and I saw quite a few candles lit around the room. It wasn't anything unusual, seeing as when it got dark Mikhail often lit candles to provide some light for the paperwork he was also responsible for. The only unusual thing was that he wasn't at the usual desk. Glancing around and seeing nobody I frowned, although I immediately spied my usual clothing on the other side of the room. _How the __hell__ did that get there?! _I mentally scorned myself, turning around and pressing the door closed before I stared at the outfit on the floor. "Well, Mikhail seems to have gone somewhere, so I'll just get changed quickly, then fix my clothes..." I mumbled quietly, quickly pulling on the outfit without thinking, opening the door cautiously and looking around again. For a second I frowned, an unusual scent wafting from the candles and making me slightly light-headed. Not because it seemed potent, but more because it was strong, and it hurt my head. Stepping out, I was immediately tackled from behind. "Mikhail! What the he-"

"Try again, princess." At the cocky, cool tone my eyes narrowed, dangerously glaring over my shoulder as I struggled to writhe out of the fire demon's firm grip.

"What the fuck do _you_ want, Koray?" I sneered, glowering up at him as the temperature in the room started to drop. He smiled down on me, clearly feeling victorious in his current position, as the flames from the candles grew to unbearably large blasts of fire, suddenly heating the room enough to make beats of sweat form on my forehead.

"Take an intelligent guess, princess." he grinned, pushing my arm further up my back and causing pain to explode in my shoulder. Human or demon, an arm-lock really was effective. I stopped struggling, my eyes shooting towards the door, which slowly opened. The familiar smell immediately threw me on the defensive track.

"He didn't come in through my area!" I shouted quickly, earnestly staring at Tatyana who shook her head lightly.

"Vell _zat _I know," Tatyana said, flashing me a decidedly flirtatious smile- which was one of the reasons why I had begged for Mikhail, better him than her- "Ve invited ze man here, da? Koray ez a strong demon, even to us. A good one for ze army."

"No." I stated flatly, glowering, my ears went flat against the back of my head, "No way in fucking hell."

"You don't really get a choice, princess." Koray mused with a smile, pushing hard on my elbow causing me to gasp loudly, pain flowering in my shoulder again. I cursed under my breath glaring up at him, "Also, Tatyana, I'm going to change my terms." Koray added in a singsong voice, which I decided I _really _didn't like. Tatyana frowned, but didn't say anything, giving Koray a look, which said 'explain' very clearly.

_Why the hell won't somebody get him __off__ of me?! _I thought, rolling my shoulders in discomfort as I continued to be used as a seat.

"I want to keep her as my pet."

"What!?" I objected immediately, giving Tatyana a look that told her exactly how against this idea I was, "That was not a part of my deal, Tatyana. I'll leave- I refuse to-" My face was pushed into the floor by Koray's free hand as he chuckled, shaking his head as he grinned down on me.

"You're pretty special to Mo-mo, aren't you? I think I'm going to be taking you whether or not I get an agreement from your current 'master' or not- the only difference is who's side I'll be helping."

"Fine." Tatyana growled, clearly not liking the situation as she started rambling under her breath in some foreign language. Mikhail tried to calm her down, but it didn't seem to be working. If I hadn't been pinned against the ground, he might have been trying to calm me down instead. Throwing up her hands in frustration and grabbing on to Mikhail, Tatyana dragged the other vampire out of the room leaving Koray and I alone.

"Well! It looks like I picked up a cute stray." Koray said, his voice uncomfortably chipper, contradicting his scarily dark expression. "I wonder what I should do with it?"

"You could **start** by getting _off_ of me." I shot, struggling under his weight to get free and falling flat on my face when he finally _did__._"Thanks for the warning, jerk." I mumbled, pushing myself back up onto my knees before getting up to my feet, my tail twitching with agitation as my ears pressed back against my head.

"You're welcome!" Koray smoothly responded; still using the same light, chipper tone from before, although it didn't make it to the murderous stare that flashed through his crimson eyes. Well, at least I could happily tell Hiei that he was about as scary as a declawed kitten, now.

"Then… I'll be _going._" I mumbled, my anxiety showing as I took a step back pressing my back against the closed door as I reached for the doorknob—until I heard Tatyana's voice from the other side. My right ear twitched and I frowned, glowering at Koray, "You may be the one _with_ greater evil, but you are certainly not the greater _of_ the two evils… I think I'll be staying." I uncomfortably mumbled with a frown, trying to casually skirt long the wall to as far away from _him _as the confines of the place would allow.

"Good." He said lightly, striding towards me with a gait I was _far_ from comfortable with, "I wasn't planning on letting you leave now, anyways."

"Oh-ho-no." I quickly shot, worriedly holding my hands up in defence. "How about you just turn around and walk out that door and we'll forget anything _ever_ happened, hmm?" I suggested, unable to stop the anxiety from drifting into my voice as I found myself backed into a corner, letting out a squeak of surprise as I mentally cursed; why the hell had I left my weapons in my room? Ice began to form around my hands as Koray continued his almost lethargic approach, unsheathing his sword and casually holding it at his side, just _smiling _as he continued his cruelly slow pace. "Oh, uh sorry. Can we do this l-later? This outfit isn't m-mine so if I w-were to get blood or rip it or s-something I don't think the owner would b-be very happy…" I forced a smile to my lips, trying to sound nonchalant as he raised an eyebrow.

"And that concerns me _how?_" he murmured, his voice sounding _almost_ affectionate; his gaze screamed bloody murder. Well clearly _that_ hadn't worked as well as I was hoping. I let out a shout of objection when he used his free hand to grab one of my arms, steam rising up where his flesh made contact with ice, easily melting through and grabbing my wrist in an iron grip. I audible winced as he smashed my arm against the wall, lifting the sword and stabbing it through my hand; obviously intentionally levelling the blade with the ground so that I couldn't just pull the blade through my hand to get away—the bones for my index and pinkie fingers made _that_ impossible. I let out a sharp cry of pain, my voice rising in pitch and volume as he shoved the blade in deeper, pain shooting up my arm. "That's right." Koray mused, clearly sounding pleased as he pulled out a dagger. Grabbing my other hand as I instinctively twisted to try and grab the blade—pinning that one above my head as well and shoving the dagger in right to its hilt, clearly relishing in the scream that flew from my lips. "And you know, you were saying something about the _clothes_… since you've already bled on them, there should be no problem with _this_." He smiled, holding a small ball of fire up in my face. I stared at it, horror on my face as I tried to stop myself from screaming in pain. _He'd_ only like that, after all.

When the skirt of the maid's dress began to burn—something I wouldn't have minded had I not been _wearing_ it at the time—I freaked a little. In a desperate attempt to stop the heat from touching my flesh I collected more water than I probably needed above me, dropping it and drenching myself; had all the water not evaporated to steam the second it touched Koray, he'd have been soaked too. So, now trembling, cold and very wet, I was _still_ pinned to the wall. And Koray only seemed more pissed. So maybe overreacting like that hadn't been the _best_ idea in the world, and clearly Koray's patience was dwindling.

"Well aren't things getting rather _steamy_ in here." He growled, his tone low as he roughly gripped my chin, causing me to flinch from the heat that radiated off of his skin while he forced me to look up at him, "You must be rather _hot_ in that outfit, hmm? Allow me to _help_ you with it." Fear flashed across my face and I didn't even have time to object before the sound of ripping fabric filled my ears. Now embarrassment and extreme discomfort could be added to the list of things my brain was trying to deal with; along with trembling, terror, and the need for an escape that I wasn't going to get. "Now remember, I enjoy it when you _scream_."

* * *

My voice was hoarse and all I felt was pain from head to toe. To say that I wasn't in a good mood would be an _extreme_ understatement and that seemed to roll off of me in waves. Now what _Koray_ had done was a major part of the problem; although the wounds in my hands had since healed the memory was fresh in my head, and half of me wanted to crawl into a dark hole and just die there. Well, honestly speaking, that was what I _had_ been doing, up until a familiar scent or two caught my attention. A familiar scent that _shouldn't_ have even been in this _world_ let alone this castle. So of course I had to go and figure out what was causing it.

When I walked into the room that was the source of the _most_ confusing scent I was obviously quite confused to face Shiori. Well, sort of face her. She was asleep on a bed and was giving no signs of waking up on her own. A curious frown spread across my lips as I strode across the room to look her over and make sure she was okay, jumping with apparent surprise when the door (which I had closed) burst open behind me. I whirled around, facing a very familiar redheaded boy and a brunette who gave off a weird energy that made me _quite _uncomfortable. How close she was _to_ Kurama wasn't helping my mood much at all. And apparently he was just as confused by my presence as I was by his.

"_Tatyana…_" I growled, my voice sharp as the vampire (who I could smell and hear hovering outside the room) sheepishly came into sight. "We had an agreement. What is _he_ doing here?" I shot, raising my voice as frost began to cling to the ground around my feet. No, today was _not_ a good day.

"Vell, you only said dat ve could not tell him zat you are hear, yes?" Tatyana sheepishly clasped her hands, "Ve did not tell him zis and so no deal has been broken." I gave the vampire woman an icy glare, storming past Kurama without stopping to practically back her into a wall.

"You're a really sneaky bitch, you know that?" I growled under my breath, feeling the ice beginning to form around my fingertips, "I'll make you regret this very bad decision… and the one you made _yesterday_, too." I warned before storming out of the room.

"Who was that?" I heard a female voice ring out, and I assumed it belonged to the girl I had left behind with Kurama

"J-just a friend of mine, Maya. Don't worry about it." came Kurama's hesitant response. Great, because _that_ was something I needed to hear on an already shitty day.


End file.
